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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23343097">Redstone Nightmares</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePlayaJam765/pseuds/ThePlayaJam765'>ThePlayaJam765</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>MCSM, Minecraft (Video Game), Minecraft Story Mode, Minecraft: Story Mode - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 08:34:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>81,233</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23343097</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePlayaJam765/pseuds/ThePlayaJam765</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s quite an interesting thing, the butterfly effect. In this case, Jesse still faces off against an Admin, but soon, she finds out that there is something far more sinister hiding beneath the surface, something that wants revenge, and when old friends come into play, she is forced to take drastic measures, and nothing may be the same ever again. (Female Jesse)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jesse/Romeo The Admin (Minecraft)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>60</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Act I - Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="western">
  <span>Act I – Chapter 1</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p class="western">
  <span>DISCLAIMER: Before we start, I’m just going to say that I am re-writing this because after looking through the original version, I’m not so happy with </span>
  <span>where it is at</span>
  <span>, nor with the quality of the first few chapters, so I decided to just scrap it entirely, and re-write the story from scratch. This time, starting from the beginning of Season Two, rather than in the middle of Episode Two.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>The original version will stay up purely for archival purposes. That being said, enough with the formalities.</span>
</p>
<p class="western"> </p>
<hr/>
<p class="western">
  <span>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p class="western">
  <span>
    <em>I always liked stories where the hero has no idea that they’re destined for greatness. The sort of heroes who are living their lives and assume that nothing exciting will ever happen to them. Those are the kind of heroes in this story. They started as just a bunch of friends in a tree-house, looking up to their idols who had come before them.</em>
  </span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>
    <em>But when disaster struck, and an evil monstrosity threatened to destroy the world, those friends discovered that heroes can come from the most humble of beginnings. They travelled the world to battle that monster, facing obstacles and sacrifices every step of the way. It wasn’t easy, but they had each other. And working together, they struck it down and saved everyone.</em>
  </span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>
    <em>Soon, they were the most famous people in the whole world. And their legend, their fame, just continued to grow as they explored more worlds, venturing into the great unknown.</em>
  </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p class="western">“<span>And that’s how those five friends, plus the bravest pig in the world, took their place in history as some of the greatest heroes who ever lived,” finished Lukas, reading his book to everyone. He had bright blond hair, and he was wearing a purple-white striped t-shirt with a leather jacket over it and jeans. Jesse was listening in attentively, with a broad smile on her face. She had long black hair, held back by a yellow hair clip and was wearing a red and white t-shirt, with overalls. </span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Meanwhile Axel, a tall, muscular griefer who was wearing a green flannel jacket with fingerless gloves and a t-shirt with a skull logo on it, had fallen asleep. Olivia, a dark-skinned redstonist, wearing a red long-sleeved shirt and boots, elbowed him awake again.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Ah! Whowahuh? What part are we at? Am I being awesome?” Axel slurred, still half-asleep.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>We thought it was great, Lukas. Although… not always technically accurate,” critiqued Olivia.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Lukas rubbed his head, giving a sheepish look. “Yeah, I mean, well, I definitely exaggerated here and there, but it was for the drama,”</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>I mean it made us sound cool, and that’s a good thing,” Axel pointed out.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeah, but it might make people think we did stuff that we didn’t actually do,” reasoned Olivia.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>It’s all fair game if it’s helping you to tell a good story,” said Jesse. “It’s not like you’re lying to, like, trick anyone.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Lukas brighted up at that statement.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeah! That’s exactly what I thought.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>If you’re planning on including schematics, we should talk though,” Olivia added.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>...I think I’m okay. I had been hoping to have it ready to read at Founding Day, but, uh… next year.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>I can’t believe it’s Founding Day already. Sneaks up on me every time,” Olivia said.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Congrats buddy – I’m proud of you for finishing it. That took a lot of work,” Jesse congratulated.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Lukas grinned, nodded and said “I’m glad you liked it. You did so much, Jesse, you’re a real hero.”</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>But… we all did, right?” asked Axel, slightly unsure.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse turned her glance to Axel.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeah. We were ALL there,” Olivia answered, in a slightly doubtful tone.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>For, uh, most of it anyway.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse stood up on her feet, turned to the group and said, “Hey, come on guys. We all did it together. We’re the Order of the Stone, after all,” </span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>It is a good note though,” said Lukas, writing something down in the book. “I’ll keep that in mind when I’m editing.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Well, this has all been really helpful feedback, guys. Once Ivor and Harper get back from their adventures, I can add a chapter about them… and then it will finally be done.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Man, they’ve been gone a long time,” remarked Axel.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>At that moment, the Order Hall door opened up, to reveal a lone figure, wearing a hoodie over a beige shirt, and a blue tie. He was wearing large glasses.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Jesse. Your intern,” said Olivia.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Said intern; Radar, walked into the order hall.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Jesse?”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh! Hey Radar,” Jesse greeted.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh. Gosh. Wow. I didn’t know all of you would be in here,” Radar said, with a nervous chuckle upon seeing Jesse’s friends. “Olivia, ma’am. Axel, sir. Lukas, sir. So sorry to interrupt everyone.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Aw… he is just adorable,” cooed Olivia.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>My deepest, sincerest, utmost apologies if I’ve caused any inconvenience.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse shook her head, and slowly stepped down from the steps towards Radar, trying once again to get him to drop the formalities.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Radar, don’t be so formal,” she said. “Cut it out with all the </span><span><em>sir</em></span><span> and </span><span><em>ma’am</em></span><span> stuff.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Right-o! Right. Awesome.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>I kinda liked it,” muttered Axel, Jesse shooting him a look.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse turned back towards Radar and asked, “So… what’s up?”</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>I got a message from Petra that she’s on her way to the mines. For that adventure you scheduled?” Radar reported. “If you hurry, you should still have time for that </span><span><em>and</em></span><span> your Founding Day duties.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh nice! We should get going!” Jesse said, springing to her feet towards the door. When she saw that her friends weren’t following her, she turned around and looked at them. All three of them had apologetic looks on their faces.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeah, about that...” Lukas began.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Olivia got to her feet.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>We’ve actually got our </span><span><em>own</em></span><span> founding day stuff we need to prep for,” she explained.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse blinked.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeeeah, I need to get back to Boom Town. I’m judging a TNT Rally in the morning,” Axel added.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse felt a slight tinge of annoyance and frustration, her friends never seemed to have any free time these days. She decided to put on a friendly face regardless.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Aw, that’s okay – I get it,” she said. “You have your life and so do I.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Thanks Jesse,” sighed Olivia in relief.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeah, thanks.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Petra’ll never let you hear the end of it though,” Jesse </span><span>added in a warning tone.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Axel walked towards her and said, “Tell Petra I said next time for sure, okay? I can’t wait to see how that sword of hers is coming along.”</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeah, I’ll tell her.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>They began to walk towards the door.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>I can’t believe I’m walking out of the Order Hall </span><span><em>with</em></span><span> the Order! Ha!” Radar exclaimed.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Ahh, so freaking cute!” exclaimed Olivia, </span><span>in a tone very similar to</span><span> Petra.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Outside, they saw the colourful sprawl that was Beacontown. Ranging from floating cow-heads to lava-houses, Beacontown had a massive variety of creations, that it was almost hard to tell which part of a build belonged to what.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>So, the other towns have Founding Day celebrations, huh?” Radar asked.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Of course! We were all part of taking down the Wither-Storm. Redstonia even hosts a whole dance in Ellegaard’s honor,” said Olivia.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeah, it’s mostly TNT and fireworks in Boom Town. Magnus let me help design the firework finale this year.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Well, I promise I will try and stop by. It was awesome to catch up with you guys,” Lukas promised. </span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Totally!”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Won’t be the same without you guys,” Jesse lamented.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Axel gave Jesse a sad look. “Aw, buddy, you’re gonna make me sad.”</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Thanks again guys,” Lukas said as Axel and Olivia walked off. “I’ll let you know as soon as I’m done with the revisions.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Ohh. Cool. Can’t wait,” Axel remarked sarcastically.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Axel,” scolded Olivia.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Lukas turned around and walked off with Axel and Olivia.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>I tell ya, I am just the luckiest,” said Radar.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse turned towards Radar, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh yeah! Getting to work with you, hanging out with the Order,” Radar listed. “And living in the coolest town in the whole world; Beacontown!”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse took a look around at the various builds that were scattered across Beacontown. She saw Ivor’s lava-house, the two floating cow-head and burger buildings on top of the Order Hall, and in the distance, she saw what appeared to be a recreation of her build she did at the Endercon Building Competition all those years ago; a giant Creeper. Unfortunately the original was destroyed when the Wither-Storm broke out. Her eyes followed a red coloured Parrot as it passed by various different parts of Beacontown.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>I realise that some days you’d rather be out adventuring with your friends, but I’m really glad you’re our leader,” Radar admitted. “You just make this place awesome.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse placed her hands on her hips, sighed, turned around and said, “Yeah… I just wish I could’ve hung out with my friends more. We’re all so busy now.”</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>That is hard,” agreed Radar. “But at least they come back to visit a bunch? That’s pretty awesome. I know that Petra is waiting for you in the mines, but I bet people would really appreciate you helping set up for the celebration.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>I’ll keep that in mind,” said Jesse, walking off. She first stopped at what appeared to be a Tiki head. “I bet one of those would look awesome on the Order Hall’s front lawn.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Radar hummed, not really following what Jesse was saying, before continuing on. Jesse followed Radar to a build of a purple colored Octopus.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>You craving seafood?” Jesse asked.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Always, why?”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse shrugged.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>JESSE DUDE!” A voice exclaimed. Jesse turned around and saw Nell, waving her arms at her. She was wearing a sleeveless surfer outfit, which greatly resembled her competitor jumpsuit that she wore back when Jesse took down Hadrian.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Nell! I thought you were out seeing the worlds!” Jesse greeted, surprise in her voice.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Did that! Righteous times! Thought I’d try settling down for a while, though,” said Nell. “Like, I love danger and derring-do as much as the next person, but sometimes you just wanna have a place to store your junk, okay?”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>I can’t believe you settled down,” said Jesse disbelievingly. “I thought you were all about the wandering, the adventure!”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Augh, you make it all sound really good again when you put it like that.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Nell’s expression faltered slightly.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Between you and me, I’m worried that I won’t, like, fit in here… So many rad builds, awesome people… I really want to make, like, a good first impression you know? Which I thought might be helped if my front yard had a statue by the one and only Jesse?”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse gave a sheepish grin.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Not sure if I have time, but I’ll see what I can do.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Hey hey hey! This is gonna be so cool! Scoop up that clay over there and let’s get to business!” Nell instructed.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse scooped up the clay, and spent the next few minutes building a statue. She didn’t know exactly what she was building, but eventually, she decided that she was happy with what she built.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>That is some sweet work – Noice!” Nell appraised, before engulfing Jesse in a hug. “Ooh, Jesse dude – Thanks!”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>It was my pleasure!”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Well, it is an honor, mi amigo, and don’t be a stranger, okay?” Nell said as she walked back inside her house. She switched on a jukebox and began to blast some music.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Well she is a… fascinating woman, isn’t she?” Radar remarked. “Very free-spirited.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Heh, yeah,” agreed Jesse. “Kind of reminds me of Petra back in her early days. Speaking of whom… you said she’s waiting for me at the--”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>--mineshaft. Mmhm.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Moving on, Jesse went to take a look at the recreation of the Creeper build, to be ambushed by an ecstatic, barking puppy.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Whoa!”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh! Wink! Get back here! Leave Jesse alone!” A female voice scolded. It belonged to Stacy Plays, who was wearing a blue-white striped shirt. Next to her, was Stampy Cat, who was wearing a cat-hoodie, with the hood pulled up.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Hello there Jesse! I was wondering when we’d run into each other!” greeted Stampy who, along with Stacy were Wink’s owners.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Thought we’d give this town of yours a try,” said Stacy.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>It’s quite lovely!”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeah, and I can’t believe how many people are here!” Stacy agreed.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Well it’s so great to see you! We need to hang out!” said Jesse, still being circled by Wink.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>That sounds wonderful!”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeah totally!”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse saw Radar come up behind her.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Radar. This is Stacy Plays and Stampy Cat,” she introduced.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Stacy noticed Jesse’s predicament.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh Wink! Here, Jesse. Give him a bone and he’ll calm right down.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse held out a bone to Wink.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Here Wink, nice tasty bone?”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Wink took it excitedly, making a whining sound as it did so.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Aww, see? He likes you.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Ha, yeah!” laughed Jesse nervously. “You want the rest of these back?”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Nah, hang onto them. I’ve got TONS. You never know when you’re gonna need to tame a wolf.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Well, thanks.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>I imagine you’re terribly busy, so we won’t keep you. But you should come and see what we’re working on because, it’s pretty cool,” Stampy added.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeah, what Stampy said. Anyway, our place is by the gate,” Stacy pointed.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Will do! See you guys later!”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse and Radar continued on past the Creeper statue, to greet a dark skinned citizen on the other side of the street.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh wow. It is really you! My friend told me this was a recreation of your first big build, way back before the Wither-Storm, before all that stuff. Is it true? You have got to tell me more about it. I can barely even picture it! I have devoured everything Lukas has written about you guys in those days, but I still have so many questions.” </span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Ha, alright. I love talking about the good old days.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yes! I’m just so curious, where does your inspiration come from? Was there a deeper meaning? Oh, or like, a critique of the world maybe?”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>I draw my inspiration from my friends – We were a team. It was a group effort,” answered Jesse. </span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh, classic Jesse. I love that. The build I really wish I got to see was what you built to take down the Wither-Storm. Now that must have been terrifying. The world coming apart at the seams, tentacles everywhere.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Well, it’s like I said about drawing inspiration from my friends – We all gave each other strength during that fight,” Jesse repeated.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Amazing. I hope I have friends like that someday. Oh, you are just the best. Oh, and thank you so much for taking the time to stop and talk to me.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Not a problem. I’ll see you around alright?”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse saw Radar standing by Reuben’s memorial, and a pang of sadness swept up inside her. Even to this day, she still misses him.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Best pig that ever lived,” she said. “Miss ya buddy.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Aw man… I wish I could’ve met Reuben. He sounded amazing,” Radar said. “I read Lukas’ book the other day. That chapter about Reuben almost got me crying right there...”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeah, he was my best friend,</span><span>” agreed Jesse solemnly. “Still miss him.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Aw...”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Ohmigosh it’s you!” An ecstatic citizen exclaimed, behind him were three pigs.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh, yep, it’s me. What are you doing here?”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh wow, this is actually perfect. For Founding Day this year, we’re picking a pig to play the part of Reuben on the float!”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh, that’s really cute,” Radar cooed.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Right? Would you be interested in… maybe helping me pick? I mean, who knows Reuben better than Jesse, right?”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeah, talk about knowledgeable casting,” agreed Radar.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse glanced at the three pigs, shrugged and said, “I would love to! Seems like the least I could do.”</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh that’s fantastic! Thank you so much!”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse took a look at the pigs.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Alright, let’s see ‘em!”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Okay piggies, show Jesse your good side!” The citizen instructed. “That’s Estaban, Smushy Cutecheeks… and Lord von Thunderpork VI.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse continued to look at each of them.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Tried my best to bring the pigs that felt the most… Reuben-esque. Hm?”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>They’re all adorable!” Radar whispered.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Raised all of ‘em myself.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse decided on Esteban.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Definitely Esteban. He’s got the most intelligent face.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Really?” questioned Radar.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Ah! I knew that’s who you’d chose – Fantastic! Congratulations!” The citizen congratulated, hugging Estaban and smooching him. “Thank you Jesse. I’m going to go get him ready, and I’ll see you at the celebration!”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Bye!” Radar waved.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse and Radar continued on, Jesse stopping briefly to </span>
  <span>take a little bit of </span>
  <span>sugarcane that she ran into. Eventually they found Stampy and Stacy again, who were in the middle of an argument.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>I am telling you, Stampy – it needs to be pumpkin pie!”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>But cake is the best!” Stampy argued. “And I would know, I have it every morning for breakfast!”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>There some sort of problem here, guys?” Jesse asked.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Hello Jesse! We heard about this Founding Day celebration of yours and we thought we’d make some sweets!”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeah, and now I’m trying to convince Mr. Stampy here to make the right decision and pick pumpkin pie,” Stacy interjected.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>There you go with those leading presentations again!”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Just… not everyone likes cake, Stampy.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh and pumpkin pie is the universally loved food?” Stampy retorted s</span><span>arcastically</span><span>. “I think not.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Why don’t we have both?” suggested Jesse.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh, that’s a wonderful idea, but… we don’t have enough ingredients,” said Stampy.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>It’s true. Here, you should just take the ingredients and decide for us,” Stacy said, shoving a whole mountainful of ingredients into Jesse’s inventory.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yes, I fear we’re gonna be debating in circles all day otherwise, heh,” Stampy agreed.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>You know, there might be some extra eggs and stuff around town. I bet you could find enough to do cake AND pie,” Radar suggested.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse glanced over at the mineshaft entrance, where Petra was supposed to be waiting.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Hmm, don’t have a ton of time. But I bet they’d be super surprised by that.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>While Jesse was looking around for ingredients, she came across a citizen who seemed to be staring into the sky.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Whatcha looking at, citizen?” Jesse asked.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh! Jesse, wow. Hi,” he stammered. “Just checking out my latest build from the ground. I’m worried it doesn’t, y’know, </span><span><em>fit</em></span><span>?</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Is it putting the right energy into the universe? Is it the appropriate aesthetic addition to the tableau that is Beacontown?”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>How’d you even get up there? That’s like… really high.” said Jesse, giving the citizen a nervous wide-eyed look.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh, getting up wasn’t the hard part. Getting down was,” the nervous citizen responded, giving a nervous laughter. </span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Uhhh, okay then. We’ll just leave you to it,” Jesse responded, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She turned to Radar and asked “Is he okay?”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>No, I don’t think so.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse, remembering that she was supposed to be collecting ingredients for Stampy and Stacy, checked to see what she had. She needed an egg, which can be easily obtained from a chicken. </span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>While Jesse was obtaining the ingredients, she checked out Stampy and Stacy’s love garden, which had a build of a heart in pink wool in the middle of it. She also high-fived a fan and came across a machine, which had the sole purpose of punching anyone who stood on it’s pressure plate. What was that thing even for anyway?</span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>After doing some collecting, she finally had enough ingredients to do cake and pie, so she approached a crafting table and crafted the two. She approached Stampy and Stacy again.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>He said cake, she said pie… I said why don’t we have both!” Jesse announced, showing off both pieces of food.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh well, this is very surprising!” Stampy laughed.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeah, that’s awesome!” Stacy agreed. “How did you do that?”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Found some extra ingredients around town. No big deal.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Well that’s fantastic Jesse, thank you so much!” Stampy said.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeah thanks! This is perfect!”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Together, they set up the stall, which had banners of both Stampy and Stacy, along with the words ‘CAKE AND PIE’. Jesse had a piece of pumpkin pie, while Radar munched on some cake. Jesse gave both Stampy and Stacy a high-five before telling them that she had to run, as Petra was waiting.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>At last, Jesse and Radar reached the entrance of the mineshaft.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>And here we are at the mines!” Radar gestured. </span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Nice, thanks for walking with me.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh no, thank </span><span><em>you</em></span><span> Jesse,” Radar said as Jesse grabbed an iron chestplate and placed it on. “It was a pleasure watching you work, it truly was. Stopping to help all those people, helping them prepare for Founding Day, very inspiring.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse approached the stairs towards the mines.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>I’ll, uh… keep watch on things here while you’re gone. Off doing your… adventure-y things. Risking your life, spitting in fate’s eye.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Just stop worrying so much, would ya?”</span></p>
<p class="western">“’<span>Stop… Stop worrying.’ I can do that. It’s so simple. Just ‘stop worrying.’” Radar said. “Am I oversimplifying it? I-I’ll work on it.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse began to walk down the steps.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Bye! Have a good time!”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Don’t I always?” Jesse muttered.</span></p>
<hr/>
<p class="western">
  <span>Author’s Note: Next chapter, things will start to deviate from canon Season Two, which is why I am posting this and the second chapter together. After that, updates should be once a week, every Friday.</span>
</p>
<p class="western"> </p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>More to follow.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Act I - Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="western">
  <span>Act I – Chapter 2</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p class="western">
  <span>
    <em>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</em>
  </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse reached the mine and looked around.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Petra?”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>She saw miners doing their jobs, and a few minecarts, but Petra was nowhere in sight.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Huh, I swear she said to meet right here,” she whispered. “Petra! Where are you…”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>A groaning sound was the response. Spinning around, Jesse saw a hoard of zombies approaching her from the darkness.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Ah! Stupid zombie!”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>She unsheathed her iron sword.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Ahh, I missed this,” Jesse said, taking deep breath and immediately coughing, feeling the urge to puke at the smell. “Ugh! Smell… not so much!”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>She attacked the two zombies, who stood no chance against her. As she plunged her sword into the last zombie, she finally heard Petra’s voice.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Well… you’re late, but at least you still remember how to fight,” she said.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh, hey!” Jesse greeted, sheathing her sword. There, stood Petra, wearing a cyan bandana, half broken blue armor with golden gems, a fingerless glove on her right hand, and a sleeve on her left arm. She had auburn hair. In her right hand, she was holding an iron sword. Wait, an iron sword? Where’s her gold one with the enchantments?</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Hey. I was worried you’d gotten rusty,” Petra continued, walking towards Jesse. “I can’t even imagine that life. Managing people, signing papers, bleh.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse widened her eyes. “Whoa, whoa. I am </span>
  <span>
    <em>not</em>
  </span>
  <span> rusty!”</span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Petra laughed. “Oh yeah? Says the scrub wearing </span>
  <span>
    <em>IRON</em>
  </span>
  <span> armor.”</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>I didn’t want to dent the good stuff! So what?” reasoned Jesse. “And look who’s talking with an iron sword. Where’s your fancy gold one with all the enchantments? Can’t remember the last time I saw you without it.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>I, uh…” Petra </span><span>trailed off</span><span>.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse raised an eyebrow, but her attention was caught again by another hoard of zombies.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Ha, time to find out just how rusty you aren’t!</span><span>” Petra teased with a smirk. Jesse dodged an attack, while Petra did a roll underneath a zombie. “Haha! Too slow, zombies! Typical.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse dispatched a hoard of four zombies with ease.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Ha! Haven’t lost my step yet!” She said.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Well, you sure showed me,” responded Petra. “Glad you finally made it. Sometimes I worry you don’t even have time for me—your friends anymore. I mean I get that you like your job and everything, but jeez.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Hey! I’m here now, aren’t I?” Jesse responded. “I’ll always make time for you.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Petra gave a sheepish grin.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeah, I guess. But now that you mention it…”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Petra looked towards the minecarts. “Can’t help but notice that we’re missing… one, two, three?”</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Axel has Boom Town duties, Olivia’s grading something or another in Redstonia and Lukas—”</span></p>
<p class="western">“—<span>is writing,” groaned Petra. “I figured. Man, our friends have gotten lame. I swear, if our old fans saw what we’re doing now. I’m just sayin’, I don’t care how good Lukas’ next book is, it’s not exactly slaying a Wither-Storm, y’know?”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>You’re right, it </span><span><em>is</em></span><span> lame,” agreed Jesse. “It just isn’t the same without them.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Petra gave Jesse’s armor another tap, making a clanking sound. “See? I knew you’d get it! We’ll worry about them later, I guess. We gotta hurry.”</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>What exactly are we looking for down here?” Jesse asked.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>I’ll… tell you when we find it. Just trust me, it’s important,” Petra said.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>A noise in the distance grabbed Jesse’s attention along with some of the workers.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Whaaat was that?”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Come on! Let’s race!” Petra challenged before speeding off, leaving a dumbfounded Jesse behind.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Wait, what?”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>It’s monster huntin’ time!”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse shook her head with a grin before taking off, in pursuit.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Hey, it’s Jesse!” A worker called out as Jesse jumped over the pit he was working in.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>What’s up? Good to see ya!”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>A minecart rolled out, a worker sitting in it holding cake.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh perfect, I’m starving,” said Jesse as she snatched the cake out of the worker’s hand and ate it.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Hey! I was gonna eat that! Obviously,” growled the worker.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse, not paying attention </span>
  <span>just barely dodged a minecart that had come rolling out right in-front of her. She continued her pursuit.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>EVERYONE GET DOWN! IT’S GONNA BLOW!” screamed a worker, running away from a flashing set of TNT. Jesse leapt over it just as it exploded, giving her a slight boost. Jesse caught up to Petra, who had stopped and was now looking around.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Alright, where’d you go?” whispered Petra.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Where’d </span><span><em>what</em></span><span> go--”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Ha! Look down there!”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse saw the direction where Petra had pointed, to see a shadow disappear into the cave. It was so fast that she couldn’t make out what it was.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>So, you’re really not gonna tell me what we’re chasing?” Jesse asked.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Nope,” said Petra, jumping off the edge. “The mystery’s what makes it fun! C’mon!”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse rolled her eyes and proceeded to follow. Reaching the bottom, she saw Petra point behind her. Turning around, Jesse saw another hoard of zombies. Not wanting to fight any more of those, Jesse took off after Petra once again. But she heard spider noises echoing ahead.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Look out! Wall spiders!” Petra warned.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Looking up, Jesse saw spiders crawling along the wall and on the ceiling.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>I see ‘em!”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse saw a spider move to attack her, with a quick draw of her sword, she slashed it at the spider, killing it. She looked behind her to see spiders giving chase. She slashed her sword behind her, killing a few of them.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Ha! Take that! And that!”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse jumped over a small lake of lava, and to her delight, she saw that the spiders were lazy and didn’t attempt to cross. One spider even fell in.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>There! It went into that cave!” Petra pointed, before jumping down onto lower ground. “Annnd Petra’s in the home stretch!”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Only to be blocked by another bunch of spiders of course. Jesse considered her options. She could continue on and win the race, or she could be a good friend and help Petra out. She chose the latter. Jumping down, she engaged the spiders.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>My turn to save </span><span><em>you</em></span><span>, Petra!”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>With a few more slashes of her sword, the spiders were history, but more kept coming.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Argh! It’s gonna take forever to get through these stupid webheads!” groaned Petra.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Maybe we can seal them off somehow?” Jesse suggested.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Like, maybe a little lava?” Petra said, seeing a lavafall blocked by a block of gravel. Jesse destroyed it with her sword, allowing the lava to flow free, separating them from the spiders.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Woo! That totally did the trick--”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Ha! See ya!” Petra said, leaving Jesse behind.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Hey! No fair!” Jesse complained.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jumping down the bottom of the pit, Petra started gloating.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Awwwww yeahhhhhh! In your face!” She bragged. “Petra! Petra! You’re number one! You’re number one!”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Uh, cheater much? I totally saved you back there!” Jesse retorted, out of breath.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Oh! Oh, yeah. You’re right,” Petra agreed. “Sorry. I shouldn’t be gloating. I was just excited.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Okay, this mystery better live up to all the hype.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>In the cave, Jesse heard some creature sounds.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Here I come, mystery monster...” she said, unsheathing her sword.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>She slowly sneaked through the cave, making sure not to make a sound. She was ready to engage whatever this monster was, just to find…</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>A llama? A LLAMA?!” Jesse exclaimed, dumbfounded.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Awesome, we found it!” Petra celebrated. “Oh, your owner is going to be so happy to see you.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Wait, lemme get this straight. This quest was just to track down a stupid </span><span><em>llama</em></span><span>?” Jesse questioned, irritated. She left her paperwork for this? The llama took offense and gave Jesse’s sword a headbutt.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>It’s not just a </span><span><em>stupid llama</em></span><span>!” Petra reasoned. “It’s, uh, it’s important okay?”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Petra was definitely hiding something, that’s for sure.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>It’s apparently, like, a </span><span><em>treasure-sniffing llama</em></span><span> or… ugh. It’s important, okay?”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Treasure-sniffing llama? Really?</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Please, just trust me,” begged Petra. “We just need to bring her back to her owner. It doesn’t need to be, like, a thing.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” apologized Jesse. “If you say it’s important… then I trust you.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Petra raised an eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeah?”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeah.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Now, how about we get you outta here, huh?” Petra said, approaching the llama.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse began to sneak towards the llama.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Come here, llama...” coaxed Jesse, making noises.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Just as Jesse reached the back of the llama to grab it, the llama kicked Jesse in the stomach with it’s back legs, knocking Jesse back significantly. Her iron armor poofed into smoke.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Haha, that’s what you get for wearing that dork armor,” Petra said matter-of-factly, helping Jesse to her feet.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Yeah yeah yeah,” Jesse retorted, rolling her eyes. “I’ll have to craft a new set. Dang. Let’s get this thing.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Don’t let it get away!”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse and Petra jumped on-top of the llama, but it wasn’t going down without a fight. It started to squirm heavily, before kicking Petra and Jesse off of it. Jesse looked up, to see the llama standing over her. It spat in Jesse’s face.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Ugh! Gross!” she groaned. She saw the llama take off into a dark cave. “C’mon. Let’s get after that armor-wrecking thing.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Hang on, it’s super dark down there. We should make a torch,” Petra suggested, giving Jesse some coal and a stick. Jesse placed them down on the crafting table, making herself a torch.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Heeere llama, llama, llama,” Jesse called out.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Where’d you go?” Petra asked. “After you, </span><span><em>Mayor Jesse</em></span><span>.”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>I told you, I’m not the mayor,” grumbled Jesse. “I’m the--”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span><em>Leader and Hero in Residence.</em></span><span> I know, I know. It’s just that… you do a lot of paperwork and, like, </span><span><em>town running</em></span><span> things. Call a shovel a shovel, am I right?”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>They reached the end of the cave, where they saw the llama on top of a pile of gravel, casting a huge shadow behind it.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>How the heck did you get up there?” Petra questioned, astounded.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Who knows, but it’s coming down now,” said Jesse, putting her torch down and punching the gravel. The llama fell down to the ground, but Jesse wasn’t paying attention to it. She was more focused on what appeared to be a purple glow up ahead. “What the--?”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>She couldn’t see much of it from where she was, but she could see that it seemed to be coming from a block with a strange logo on it. She and Petra walked towards it. The llama appeared in-front of it, blocking their view.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Ugh, get out of the way! I was looking at that!” snapped Jesse, kicking the llama aside.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>What’s that?” Petra asked.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Only one way to find out,” Jesse said, before approaching the mysterious block. It was placed </span><span>on </span><span>what appeared to be a 5×5 grid of gravel. As she approached it, she could have sword she could hear a high-pitched female laughter echoing.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Whaaat was that creepy laugh?” Jesse asked nervously.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Uh, yeah. I heard that too!” Petra responded. “That sounded really creepy.”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Jesse approached the block, feeling irresistibly drawn to it and crouched down next to it. The llama made a nervous noise.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Whoa girl,” Petra said, calming the llama down. “What is it?”</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>On each side of the block, sported the same logo. It was of a weird glowing purple square, with what appeared to be a wrench/tool in the middle of it. (1)</span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>The llama made a nervous noise.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">“<span>Whoa girl! What is it?” asked Petra.</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>Looks like some kind of powerful block? No idea what it’s supposed to be made out of,” Jesse said. “Something out of the End perhaps?”</span></p>
<p class="western">“<span>The end? I’ve never seen anything like that before!” remarked Petra.</span></p>
<p class="western">
  <span>Thinking about the end made Jesse think about Soren, and she wondered if perhaps he might have any inkling of what it was supposed to be. Jesse reached to touch the block, and that turned out to be the biggest mistake of her life.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>As soon as her fingers made contact with the block, a whole bunch of images began flashing through her mind, making her forget where she was. The images flashed so quickly that she never got to make out much detail from them. The little details she could make out were flashes of what appeared to be a yellow glowing figure with magenta hair and glowing pink eyes.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>The last thing Jesse remembered was shrill, ear-piercing laughter before everything went black.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p class="western">
  <span>A huge clang echoed throughout the cell block as the door to a certain prisoner’s cell opened up, before the prisoner that the cell belonged to was shoved roughly inside, followed by another clang as the iron door was once again locked shut.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>The prisoner lay on the floor, his arms bound around his body by a straight-jacket, and his mouth bound shut by a muzzle. After a few seconds, during which the pain of headbutting the ground eased slightly, he shifted himself into a sitting position on the far wall of the cell, next to the bed. His shoulder-length hair, which long ago shined a bright blood red, was faded, dirty and matted. His untidy goatee, which was covered by the muzzle, was the same faded color.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>He growled in anger over his recently failed escape attempt. He had long lost track of how long he was here, but in that time, he could count the number of escape attempts on one hand and that was three, including this one. He didn’t try to escape often, but when he did, he did his damn best to make them count. </span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>The first time, a riot had broken out, and he had used the chaos to escape. And he would’ve been successful too, if it weren’t for that damn maze. He had gotten trapped in a circle of mobs, which infuriated him because </span>
  <span>
    <em>she</em>
  </span>
  <span> had the audacity to turn </span>
  <span>
    <em>his</em>
  </span>
  <span> creations against him like that?</span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>The second time went pear-shaped almost instantly. One of his only prisoner friends, Gordon, had ratted him out, which got him promoted to being one of the guards, and eventually to one of the higher ups of the prison, before becoming the Warden himself. The red-head was proud to say that he actually tore out Gordon’s right eye for that; serves the traitor right. That was when he realized that he could trust nobody in this place.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>This time, he had gotten so deep into the maze that he had thought the guards had given up, but how stupid of him to get his hopes up like that. </span>
  <span>
    <em>She</em>
  </span>
  <span> would stop at nothing to stop him from getting his long overdue vengeance.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>And now, he had gotten stuffed into this stupid straight-jacket, which was going to make any future attempts at escaping this shit-hole next to impossible. Fan-fucking-tastic.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>But if you think that he was going to let that stop him, you’d be sorely mistaken. Even if it </span>
  <span>kills</span>
  <span> him, he will find a way to escape, and when he does, he’ll make</span>
  <span>
    <em> her</em>
  </span>
  <span> wish that she had never heard the name ‘Romeo Blanc’. But for now, he drifted off into an uncomfortable sleep.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p class="western">
  <span>Author’s Note: Well, we’re definitely getting somewhere here. Updates from now on should hopefully be once a week, on Friday.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>(1) For clarification, this is the symbol seen on the </span>
  <span>
    <em>purple</em>
  </span>
  <span> banner, and in the Oasis during Episode 4 of Season Two.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p class="western">
  <span>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</span>
</p>
<p class="western">
  <span>More to follow.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Act I - Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="western">Act I – Chapter <span>3</span></p><hr/><p class="western">
  <em>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</em>
</p><hr/><p class="western">“Jesse? JESSE!!!”</p><p class="western">Jesse startled awake, to find herself lying on flat grass underneath the sun. She looked to her right and found Petra crouched over her, out of breath and a worried look on her face.</p><p class="western">“Petra!” Jesse gasped, getting to her feet. “What happened?”</p><p class="western">“That’s what I should be asking you, Jesse,” said Petra, pulling out the purple block, which was no longer glowing. “You touched this block, then you sort of seized up and fell unconscious.”</p><p class="western">Jesse immediately remembered that high-pitched laugh that she heard before she blacked out. She reached out and took the strange block off Petra.</p><p class="western">“And then the floor caved into itself, as if it were made out of nothing but gravel and sand. It all got sucked into some kind of bottomless purple void in the ground. I managed to grab you before you fell in, and I had to haul you up to the surface. <span>W</span>e’re right above the hole. I scooped up some dirt and covered it up.”</p><p class="western">Jesse looked around, and saw that they were right next to Beacontown, which alarmed her.</p><p class="western">“It’s so close to Beacontown!”</p><p class="western">Petra pulled out a sign.</p><p class="western">“Here. Maybe you could… leave a warning or something?” she suggested.</p><p class="western">Jesse took the sign, scribbled a message on it and planted it into the ground. The message that she wrote on it said:</p><p class="western">
  <em>KEEP OFF THE GRASS</em>
</p><p class="western">“Sure, yeah, that works,” commented Petra.</p><p class="western">“Okay then,” Jesse cleared her throat, before <span>pulling out the purple block again</span>. “What do we do about all this?”</p><p class="western">Petra placed her hand to her mouth, humming. “Well, the void did look like something out of the End, with it’s purple colour and everything. Right now, I have two people in mind who might know something about that; Soren and a guy named Jack. Soren may be a little bit hard to find, but Jack lives in Beacontown. He’s meant to be a treasure-hunter, and there may be a chance that he might know about all this.</p><p class="western">“Because we definitely can’t have that happening again. That was… that was really bad.”</p><p class="western">“That sounds perfect!” said Jesse. “I can’t wait to meet this guy.”</p><p class="western">“Knew you’d be excited! Yes!” Petra responded excitedly. “And I’ll take you to Jack’s shop as soon as I’m back… but first, I really need to deal with this llama.”</p><p class="western">The llama, however had other ideas. It stood stubbornly in place, refusing to move.</p><p class="western">Jesse pulled out the block again, and waved it around. “Uh, hello? What about this? What about that void in the ground?”</p><p class="western">“I… yeah. I know, I know,” responded Petra, trying to get the llama to move. “But this llama...”</p><p class="western">“Why <span>is that llama so important to you?</span>”</p><p class="western">Petra sighed. “You know my sword? Gold one? With all the enchantments?”</p><p class="western">“<em>Miss Butter</em>?”</p><p class="western">“Yeah. I-- I… kinda got tricked… by this person named Stella. Said she <em>just wanted to put it on display for a little while,</em>” Petra admitted. “And now she won’t give it back until I do dumb quests like this for her. It’s… uh… it’s been not great.”</p><p class="western">“Petra,” Jesse spoke up. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”</p><p class="western">“You haven’t exactly been around much. Didn’t wanna bother you with it. So yeah, her name’s Stella and she’s kinda obsessed with treasure. She says this is her <em>treasure-sniffing llama</em> or… She runs a place called Champion City.”</p><p class="western">Petra pointed in the distance, where Jesse saw the city that she heard one of Beacontown’s citizens name <em>Champion City</em> a few years back.</p><p class="western">“Wait, like Champion City right over there? I had no idea their leader was like that.”</p><p class="western">“Yeah, she’s… ambitious.” Petra agreed. “And she’s willing to do anything to get her way. Bullying, lying, cheating. Without my sword? I-I just really need to get it back.”</p><p class="western">“I can smell a bully from a mile away, Petra. And I don’t let bullies go… being smelled on my watch,” said Jesse, stopping for a moment to figure out how to finish her sentence.</p><p class="western">“You’re one of the good ones, Jesse. Thanks,” Petra responded with a slight chuckle.</p><p class="western">Jesse turned towards Champion City. “C’mon, I can’t wait to meet this <em>Stella </em>myself.”</p><p class="western">“Yeah… okay. Let’s do it,” said Petra.</p><p class="western">“Then, freshly re-armed, we’ll come back, talk to Jack and sort out that Heckmouth,” Jesse said, giving the <em>bottomless pit</em> a name.</p><hr/><p class="western">After walking for a bit, they reached the main gates to Champion City. Walking inside, Jesse saw that they were in a courtyard, where a bunch of citizens were roaming around, doing their thing. She did notice that the builds <span>appeared to be</span> a lot more stricter and tidy than in Beacontown. A statue of a llama resembling the one with them was built in the middle of the courtyard.</p><p class="western">“This is it, Champion City,” Petra introduced. “Every single one of those apartments up there is exactly the same. Stella is… strict about how things look here. She claims the top level are the <em>Diamond Class Apartments</em>, but they’re just one block wider.”</p><p class="western">“If it’s really ‘Champion City’ then where are all the Champions, huh? More like Llama City,” Jesse commented.</p><p class="western">The llama looked offended at Jesse’s statement.</p><p class="western">“Uh, yeah. Good one,” Petra deadpanned. She tried to pull the llama along with her, but the llama stubbornly refused to move. “What? Come on. We’re almost there. It’s like she doesn’t want to go see Stella. I kinda know how she feels. I just, really need this to go well. And with Stella, well. It doesn’t, most times.</p><p class="western">“Hey, that’s why you’ve got me, remember? We’re a team, and we will take care of this no problem.” said Jesse.</p><p class="western">“Sure hope you’re right,” sighed Petra. “Anyway. Stella usually has her <em>office hours</em> in the centre of the courtyard.</p><p class="western">“Well, I hope she’s ready for an <em>appointment</em> with Jesse and Petra,” Jesse said. Reaching the doors, she, Petra and the llama entered the courtyard where Stella supposed to be.</p><p class="western">“There’s Stella,” pointed Petra. Jesse saw a blonde woman giving a puppy to a citizen.</p><p class="western">“That’s right, puppies for everyone,” she exclaimed pompously. “No shoving now! We’re not Beacontowners!”</p><p class="western">If Jesse had to describe Stella, it would be with one word; Arrogant. Jesse already didn’t like this woman, that’s for sure. Petra turned to Jesse.</p><p class="western">“You’ve probably put this together right now, but Stella’s pretty fond of herself… I would play to her ego.”</p><p class="western">As Jesse slowly pushed herself to the front of the queue, she could hear Stella’s voice continue on.</p><p class="western">“Oh! Well, that is a cute one, and he could be all yours. Provided you have the right payment, of course. Oh, she matches your outfit wonderfully.”</p><p class="western">“Ugh, come on you!” Petra struggled, as the llama refused to move once again. However, Stella looked around, and saw the llama.</p><p class="western">“Oh, Lluna my darling! You came hone! You came back!” She exclaimed, approaching the llama. “Ah, Rodrigo? Could you bring Lluna home please?”</p><p class="western">Looking at the guard she addressed as <em>Rodrigo</em> and at Stella herself, Jesse saw that they were all wearing ear pieces. Rodrigo approached Lluna, and guided her away from Jesse and Petra.</p><p class="western">“There’s a good girl,” whispered Stella. Jesse cleared her throat, getting her attention.</p><p class="western">“Stella.”</p><p class="western">“Oh, look who it is; Jesse! Leader of Beacontown! And my sworn rival...” exclaimed Stella. Jesse did a double-take. Rival?</p><p class="western">“I’ve never met her before, right?” Jesse whispered to Petra.</p><p class="western">“No.”</p><p class="western">“Our rivalry, Beacontown vs. Champion City?” Stella pointed out. “Surely you think about it as much as I do?”</p><p class="western">Jesse was not going to play her game.</p><p class="western">“Sorry, but you? Are not my rival,” she corrected. “Even my B-List villains are way scarier than you.”</p><p class="western">“I do not know what kind of mind games you are trying to bring into our rivalry, but I’ll tell you right now they are not going to work on me,” huffed Stella. “So, rival. What brings you to Champion City? Surely there must be a reason for you to visit your rival’s town? I’m sure you didn’t just come here to talk or whatever.”</p><p class="western">Jesse heard another bout of high-pitched laughter come from the block in her inventory. She pulled it out.</p><p class="western">“Shush, you! I’m busy here!” snapped Jesse.</p><p class="western">“Oooh! That looks fancy! Absolutely darling,” said Stella. She glanced towards a guard, who nodded at her before pulling a puppy out. “You wouldn’t be interested in trading, would you? Got some fine puppies here. All free-range, of course.”</p><p class="western">Jesse saw straight through her act. Stella was attempting to take that block off of her, same as what she did with Petra’s sword. As much as she would love to be rid of this horrible thing, she was not going to give in to this otherwise terrible deal.</p><p class="western">“Just a puppy for this? That’s a terrible trade,” declined Jesse with a frown.</p><p class="western">Stella looked flabbergasted.</p><p class="western">“Rude. I just thought I’d offer,” she said, as the guard threw the puppy towards a citizen, who sped off with it. “Heard you need a new pet.”</p><p class="western">“Okay, hold it!” Petra said, stepping in.</p><p class="western">“Oh, Petra! You’re here too. I almost thought Lluna just came back on her own,” said Stella. “What do I owe you? A puppy?”</p><p class="western">“No. That wasn’t--”</p><p class="western">“A diamond maybe?”</p><p class="western">“No! I--”</p><p class="western">“An emerald? Don’t push <em>too</em> hard now,” Stella continued to interrupt. Jesse decided that it was time to step in.</p><p class="western">“Don’t make me get tough here, Stella. You know what Petra wants,” she warned. “We’re not leaving without that sword.”</p><p class="western">“Wait, is this about…? Oh Petra. Oh, sweetie no!” She said, in a falsely sweet tone. “I was very clear. I make trades for treasures. I think I’m all done here.”</p><p class="western">Stella turned around and began to walk off.</p><p class="western">“You said you just wanted <em>display it</em>! I thought I could still use it!” Petra argued, as a few guards closed in, separating her from Stella.</p><p class="western">Stella turned around, shook her head and said, “Oh no, Honey, no! You wanted to become my champion. You came to <em>me</em>, remember?”</p><p class="western">What?</p><p class="western">“In exchange you got to live <em>here</em> instead of Beacontown. Isn’t that nice?” finished Stella. Jesse was astounded, how could she? She turned to Petra.</p><p class="western">“Oh, no was that supposed to be a secret?” taunted Stella. “Oh dear, Petra, sweetie!”</p><p class="western">“Oh, we are going to talk about this later, Petra,” Jesse snarled.</p><p class="western">Petra gave Jesse an apologetic look.</p><p class="western">“I.. uh...I know.”</p><p class="western">“Well, I think it’s about time I go back to my treasure hall, Jesse,” said Stella. “By the way? <em>Way</em> nicer than yours! Do you two know the way out? What am I saying, of course Petra does! If you ever want a place in Champion City, just ask!”</p><p class="western">“Like I said, she’s the worst!” sighed Petra. Jesse gave her a doubtful look. She still couldn’t believe Petra had lied to her like that.</p><p class="western">“I’m still upset about this, Petra. You lied to me!” she said.</p><p class="western">“I...” Petra started, before shrugging. “Yeah, I deserve that. Like you said, let’s talk about it later. Right now, I really need to figure out how I’m gonna get my sword back. I just don’t know how we’re gonna do that...”</p><p class="western">Jesse saw two entrances. Petra pointed to the one on the right.</p><p class="western">“Stella’s <em>treasure room</em> is right there, but I’ve got a bad feeling about those bodyguards of hers!”</p><p class="western">Jesse saw Stella disappear through a doorway, along with two guards.</p><p class="western">“Could probably sneak in through the puppy kennel, but that’s a lot of barking puppies.”</p><p class="western">Jesse was more interested in fighting the bodyguards, as she wanted to get that sword quickly, so they can get around to finding out what that hole in the ground is.</p><p class="western">“We’ll roll in, fight the bodyguards, snag the sword, get out again. Piece of cake.”</p><p class="western">“I like the sound of that,” agreed Petra.</p><p class="western">Petra and Jesse followed the two guards in, not even attempting to hide when they turned around and spotted them.</p><p class="western">“Hey! You can’t be in here!” A guard growled. Jesse and Petra unsheathed their swords. The guards unsheathed their own swords. “And you definitely can’t have those! Get ‘em!”</p><p class="western">“Let’s fire it up!”</p><p class="western">Jesse immediately blocked an attack from one of the guards.</p><p class="western">“I don’t like you!” the guard admitted.</p><p class="western">“Ha! Not a fan of yours either!” retorted Jesse. She blocked another attack. “We still really need to talk about this, Petra.”</p><p class="western">“You really wanna discuss it <em>now</em>?” She responded, dumbfounded.</p><p class="western">“Yes! I do!” Jesse said.</p><p class="western">“It does seem like weird timing--” the guard said, before Jesse kicked him back.</p><p class="western">“Shush!”</p><p class="western">“Hey! Shush <em>you</em>!”</p><p class="western">Jesse collided with the guard’s sword.</p><p class="western">“I’m trying--”</p><p class="western">She struggled with the guard.</p><p class="western">“--To have a conversation here!”</p><p class="western">With a quick swing, she knocked the sword out of the guard’s hand. Petra did the same with the other guard. They, being the cowards they are, fled in terror.</p><p class="western">“This whole Champion City thing is kind of a big deal, don’t you think?” Jesse said.</p><p class="western">“Is it though? So I have a house here, so what?” Petra asked.</p><p class="western">“Hey! What’s going on out here?” A guard shouted.</p><p class="western">“Ugh!” groaned Petra.</p><p class="western">Jesse blocked another attack.</p><p class="western">“<em>So what?</em>” She repeated. “I feel like you’re deflecting the issue!”</p><p class="western">“Uh, me?” asked the guard, confused. Jesse did a spin attack and knocked the sword away.</p><p class="western">“No, not <em>you</em>!” She growled.</p><p class="western">“Yipes!”</p><p class="western">“What about not wanting to be tied down? What about your friends?” asked Jesse.</p><p class="western">Petra dealt with the guard.</p><p class="western">“You mean the friends who are never around anymore?” she spat. A guard tried to sneak up on Jesse, to find a fist in his face from Jesse.</p><p class="western">“What did you say?” She questioned, glaring at Petra.</p><p class="western">“No matter what happens, no matter how much I do, <em>you’re</em> the big hero,” she snarled. “You probably don’t even remember what it’s like adventuring out there, scrounging for resources! Just look at today! We were supposed to go on one adventure, and you were late. I can’t even get my <em>friends</em> to spend time with me.</p><p class="western">“Do you know how it feels to show up for quest after quest and just hearing ‘Aw man. I’m sorry. Next time! Next time!’ It gets embarrassing!”</p><p class="western">“Yeah, you’re right. Of course you’re right,” admitted Jesse. “I know I haven’t exactly been the best friend lately.”</p><p class="western">Petra, upon realising what she just said, looked guilty. They turned around and looked around Stella’s treasure room.</p><p class="western">“This is Stella’s <em>treasure room</em>?” Jesse questioned.</p><p class="western">“Yeah.”</p><p class="western">Jesse looked around. It had a little bit more space than the Order Hall, but the treasures she saw weren’t nearly as impressive as what she had. Sponge blocks? Trophy heads? Gold pants? Diamond tools? Seriously?</p><p class="western">“Yep, all bought from other people,” said Petra. Jesse didn’t realise she said her thoughts out loud. “Half of them still have the name tags of other people on them!”</p><p class="western">“Okay, this is actually pretty funny,” said Jesse, trying not to laugh. “She seriously thinks <em>this</em> makes you a hero? Treasure you got from other people?”</p><p class="western">“I know one treasure she doesn’t get to keep though, should be...”</p><p class="western">Petra looked at one of the podiums in the middle of the room. It was empty, which s<span>omehow</span> frustrated her.</p><p class="western">“No! Where’d it go? Where’d she put it?”</p><p class="western">“You’re sure it was here?” Jesse asked.</p><p class="western">Before Petra could answer, they heard Stella clear her throat from behind them.</p><p class="western">“So, our rivalry escalates again!” she announced.</p><p class="western">“You’re not my rival!” Jesse repeated, getting frustrated.</p><p class="western">“Says the person breaking into my treasure room! Classic rival move!” Stella raised Petra’s sword. “You shouldn’t be here.”</p><p class="western">Jesse unsheathed her sword.</p><p class="western">“Well you shouldn’t be such a jerk. Guess we’re <em>all</em> disappointed.”</p><p class="western">Jesse moved to fight Stella, only for her to drop it and jump back. What a coward.</p><p class="western">“Okay! Okay fine just take it! Take the stupid sword!” Stella conceded. “I’ve got better treasure than that anyway.”</p><p class="western">“<span>Hope you learned a lesson here, Stella</span>,” said Jesse. “No one cheats my friends and gets away with it.”</p><p class="western">“Yes, I’ve certainly learned how you deal with people you disagree with.”</p><p class="western">Jesse and Petra walked towards the exit.</p><p class="western">“I won’t forget this, Jesse! History will remember this as an important day in our rivalry! A day you rue ‘til--”</p><p class="western">“STILL NOT MY RIVAL!” Jesse yelled.</p><p class="western">“Aw, man!”</p><hr/><p class="western">Author’s Notes: So, that’s that. Not much else to say.</p><hr/><p class="western">Like it, review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</p><p class="western">More to follow.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Act I - Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Act I – Chapter </span>
  <span>4</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>The sun was already starting to set, coating the entire landscape in a bright orange hue as Jesse and Petra walked along the path, away from the sprawling towers of Champion City. Petra brandished her glowing golden sword, </span>
  <span>
    <em>Miss Butter</em>
  </span>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Rah! Feels so good to have you back!” She yelled with excitement as she held it up in the air. “Thank you so much for your help. I know it got a little weird back there, but I appreciate you still helping me anyway.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse shrugged. “Hey, it’s all in the past Petra. Just happy to reunite you with your favorite deadly weapon.”</span>
</p><p>“<span>Ohhh, and it feels so good!”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse and Petra walked past the sign that Jesse had placed down earlier, to warn any bystanders to keep off the grass that was covering the heckmouth. Right as Jesse walked past it, the block in her inventory began to laugh again, and she heard a rumbling come from the grass marked by the sign.</span>
</p><p>“<span>What is that?” questioned Petra, staring at the ground nervously. The ground began to shake, indicating that an explosion was imminent. Jesse, seeing the danger, dived into Petra, pushing her out of the way as the ground behind the sign blew wide open, exposing the heckmouth once again. But there was an even bigger problem, the heckmouth was spitting out mobs, ranging from creepers, spiders, zombies, skeleton and even Endermen.</span></p><p>
  <span>But they weren’t regular mobs. These mobs </span>
  <span>all had a color scheme of black, with glowing purple eyes, very similar to the block in Jesse’s inventory, which was once again glowing.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Sign didn’t stop that,” remarked Jesse.</span></p><p>
  <span>Petra pointed to a group of purple creepers that were moving toward them at an unnaturally fast pace. “Or those.”</span>
</p><p>“<span>Whoa! That’s a lot of creepers!”</span></p><p>“<span>And they’re all purple?! That should be impossible!” cried Petra.</span></p><p>“<span>Tell them that!” said Jesse as she dived in and swung her sword, knocking the purple creepers back into the pit as they exploded, with a much bigger blast radius than regular creepers. She attacked another creeper, only for her sword to snap into two pieces. “Gah! Stupid cheap sword!”</span></p><p>
  <span>A purple creeper began flashing and moving towards Jesse. Petra dived in while shouting, “I gotcha covered Jesse!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Petra used </span>
  <span>
    <em>Miss Butter</em>
  </span>
  <span> to knock the creeper back into the pit. She gave her sword a kiss. “So good to have you back!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesse, meanwhile dodged a few roaming purple creepers, before they grouped together with some purple zombies. She </span>
  <span>pulled out the purple block, it looked pretty durable, perhaps it could help</span>
  <span>. “Oh, no you don’t!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a running start, she held the block in-front of her and </span>
  <span>jousted</span>
  <span> right into the purple mobs, knocking them back down.</span>
</p><p>“<span>WHOO!” She screamed. “THAT WOULD’VE BEEN DUMB! IF IT WASN’T SO AWESOME!”</span></p><p>
  <span>She turned to Petra. “C’mon, we need to get this thing covered up again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesse and Petra scooped up some of the grass a little distance away, and used it to cover up the hole, leaving no evidence except for a circle-shaped large brown patch. The sun had completely set by now, and night had fallen. Jesse sat down, catching her breath.</span>
</p><p>“<span>I—I don’t know how we’re going to get this to hold. That heckmouth blew right through the </span><span><em>ground</em></span><span>!”</span></p><p>“<span>First that weird purple block, then that pit spitting out purple mobs… we need to get to Jack’s fast,” agreed Petra.</span></p><p>“<span>Yeah… I hope this treasure hunter knows as much as you say he does,” said Jesse.</span></p><p>“<span>He does, he’s gotta. C’mon! I’ll show you the way,” gestured Petra, leading the way back into Beacontown just as it began to rain due to an incoming thunderstorm.</span></p><p>
  <span>Racing through Beacontown’s gates, Petra turned right and led Jesse to a dark looking side alley. “Welcome to Bad Luck Alley.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesse saw that it was bustling with activity.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Wow, I didn’t even know people hung out down here at night,” she said.</span></p><p>“<span>Well, yeah. It’s the cool part,” answered Petra.</span></p><p>“<span>What’s that supposed to mean?”</span></p><p>
  <span>Petra continued walking down the alley, with Jesse in tow.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Aw, you know. These are the people who like to live… off the grid. Outside the rules. And you’re kinda </span><span><em>The Boss,</em></span><span>” she explained, waving her arms. “It’s just the way the world works. That’s… like, the trade-off when you’re in charge, you know that.”</span></p><p>“<span>Well I really appreciate you showing me,” said Jesse. “I know this is, like, your thing or whatever… and it’s nice of you to share.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Petra chuckled. “You are such a cornball, but no problem.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They continued on down the alley a little bit longer, before Petra turned right and stopped.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Should be somewhere down here, I think,” she mused.</span></p><p>“<span>Wait, have you never been here before? You said you knew a guy-”</span></p><p>
  <span>Petra turned around. “Okay, not ‘</span>
  <span>
    <em>know him’ </em>
  </span>
  <span>know him. I know </span>
  <span>
    <em>of</em>
  </span>
  <span> him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesse nodded, raising an eyebrow. Petra folded her arms, before sighing.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Okay fine – He’s a legend, alright? He was once one of the greatest treasure hunters in the whole world and… he’s kind of a hero of mine,” Petra admitted. “What should I say? What should I do? I can’t believe I’m about to meet Jack.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Petra, fangirling? Jesse made a mental note to mention that to Lukas later on. He would definitely want to write that down.</span>
</p><p>“<span>What if he invites me to go adventuring with him? I’ve… I’ve heard legends of how great he is!”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse stepped in and said something she was always telling Radar, and that was, “Well, if I can offer some advice? Best thing to do around your heroes is just act like yourself. Otherwise it’s weird for everyone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Petra took a deep breath. “Be myself. Got it. Got it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They kept wallking for a little bit longer, under the heavy rain before Jesse spotted a sign above a shop containing double doors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>Jack &amp; Nurm’s Adventure Emporium.</em>
  </span>
</p><p>“<span>Yup, that’s our place,” confirmed Petra. “Man, I’ve always wanted an excuse to come here.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Opening the doors, Jesse and Petra stepped inside the shop, Petra closing them behind her. As they stepped inside, Jesse took a look around. Redstone lamps were casting an eerie yellow hue around the shop, and the whole place was decorated with various treasures, presumably belonging to Jack.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Oh, wow!” gasped Petra, racing around, checking everything out. “</span><span><em>The Upper Lowlands? Spider-Peak Mountain? The Ice Crags of Doom?</em></span><span>”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse watched Petra disappear somewhere, before walking past a set of weird looking skulls. Petra reappeared behind her, saying, “It’s just like I told you – Jack might be the best adventurer in town! This stuff is from all over the world!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesse stopped and gave Petra a questioning look. She grinned nervously. “Heh, I just mean, uh, it’s all pretty cool.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shrugging, Jesse found a button, which had a sign below it. On the sign, it read;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>PUSH FOR SERVICE</em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesse stepped up to the button and pressed it. It made a buzzing sound which echoed around the shop.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Ahem! Welcome to Jack &amp; Nurm’s Adventure Emporium,” echoed a voice. Jesse snapped her head in the direction it was coming from, and saw a silhouette of a muscular figure posing, right arm out-stretched against the bookshelf, while the other was on his waist.</span></p><p>“<span>Ohmigosh, it’s him. It’s Jack!” whispered Petra excitedly, shaking Jesse, before regaining her composure and straightening herself up. “Sorry. I’m… I’m a big fan.”</span></p><p>“<span>You pushed the button,” continued Jack, his voice continuing to echo. “Very… very brave!”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse was confused, what was so brave about pushing a button?</span>
</p><p>“<span>I mean, I don’t know how brave it was, I was just doing what the sign said,” she said, uncertainly.</span></p><p>“<span>Heh, there are lots of </span><span><em>signs</em></span><span> in the world; not everyone’s brave enough to follow them,” Jack answered. Jesse glanced away from Jack towards Petra just for a second, and when she looked back, she almost jumped, for he had disappeared, only to reappear right behind her, still facing away from them and in the same pose. “The Warriors of the Whispering Mountain call me</span> <span>‘The Stab-Walker’. The Air Titans of the East call me ‘He-Who-Slashes-Like-Thunder’.”</span></p><p>
  <span>He turned around dramatically.</span>
</p><p>“<span>But you may call me… Jack!”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse saw that he was wearing a sleeveless vest, with fingerless gloves, showing off his scarred muscular arms, and he had sandy brown hair with a grizzled beard. His left eye was slightly lighter than his right one, was he perhaps blind in that eye?</span>
</p><p>“<span>So… cool,” Petra commented, jumping up and down.</span></p><p>“<span>So awesome to meet you!” said Jesse. “Love your shop.”</span></p><p>“’<span>Course it is, and ‘course you do,” replied Jack. “Pleasure to have you in today.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jack began to approach them. “So, what can I do for you today? Desert temple? Woodland Mans-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesse pulled out the purple block, which was not glowing at the moment, and placed it right on top of the button with a huge thud. Jack jumped about a mile upon seeing it, looking at it with a look of terror.</span>
</p><p>“<span>-AAIE-- Whoa!”</span></p><p>“<span>Yeah, that’s what we’re here about,” confirmed Jesse as Jack continued to stand there, completely stunned. He eventually snapped out of it, clearing his throat.</span></p><p>“<span>Wow, huh. Crazy block you got there. Not that I’ve ever seen one before,” he stammered. Jesse knew instantly he was lying, if his reaction was anything to go by. “Looks real crazy though, crazy stuff.”</span></p><p>“<span><em>Never seen it before?</em></span><span> That’s not the way I heard it,” said Jesse with a frown. “Petra here said you know more about secret treasures like this than anybody.”</span></p><p>“<span>Yeah, come on Jack!” agreed Petra. Jack seemed at a loss for words.</span></p><p>“<span>I… that is… um,” he stammered. Eventually he conceded. “Found it on top of a creepy bottomless pit, right? Spitting out purple monsters?”</span></p><p>“<span>Yeah! And when I touched it, I had visions of this...” Jesse strained her memory, but all she could remember was that high, shrill, bone-chilling laugh. “...this...”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jack turned around, a cold look on his face. “You should have never touched that block. Those visions you got? The purple monsters that the pit is spitting out? That is but the beginning of the chaos that this block can and will cause.”</span>
</p><p>“<span>Wow, I’ll be sure to remember that, the next time I see a mysterious purple glowing block,” retorted Jesse sarcastically. </span><span>That would’ve been useful to know </span><span><em>before</em></span><span> she touched the thing.</span></p><p>“<span>That sass won’t fix the pit any faster, you know,” responded Jack, before launching into an explanation. “That pit… it’s as deadly as they come. And that symbol you see on the block there. That is the symbol… of the </span><span>Structure Block</span><span>.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse raised an eyebrow, while Petra stood there, stunned.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Legend says it was a mighty tool that could grow civilizations like seeds, create cities in the blink of an eye. You need one of those to close your pit.”</span></p><p>“<span>So where can I get one of these </span><span><em>Structure Blocks</em></span><span>?” questioned Jesse. “I was thinking perhaps it </span><span>came from </span><span>the End, because of the purple mobs.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jack nodded his head. “Oh, it definitely came from the End, alright. More specifically, from a particular End City. Everyone, even the Endermen, avoid it like the plague, as </span>
  <span>it is known as the </span>
  <span>‘Ender City of Hell!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ender City of Hell? What kind of name is that?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before Jesse could respond, A cartographer villager came out behind a desk, saying something in Villagerese.</span>
</p><p>“<span>No, no. No problem,” said Jack as he walked towards the villager. “Gals, this is Nurm – My other half. He’s the genius behind all of our fine maps.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Nurm stuck his head up in a proud manner. “Nurm, this is Jesse and Petra.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He made a noise of greeting. Jesse waved at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jack turned around and said, “I was just about to tell these two that I can’t help them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesse widened her eyes. “What?”</span>
</p><p>“<span>I love your early work – Wither-Storm? Old Builders? Awesome, but as a purveyor of fine maps and adventures, your death would be terrible for business,” said Jack.</span></p><p>“<span>But-” protested Petra.</span></p><p>“<span>Sorry,” apologi</span><span>s</span><span>ed Jack. “I just can’t.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse sighed.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Jack, come on. Do I really need to list off all the amazing things we’ve done to prove that we’re tough enough to handle this? We can take anything you throw at us.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jack, looking defeated, sighed and gestured for Jesse to follow him. “Let me show you something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He led Jesse to a map on the wall.</span>
</p><p>“<span>It’s like I said before… The world’s a lot bigger than you think it is, Jesse,” said Jack before he flipped a lever. Jesse could only roll her eyes, she had literally been to the Far-Lands. The world doesn’t get any bigger than that. Jesse did however watch as the map expanded itself. Eventually, it finished expanding, leaving one square to the left of it over the desert, blank.</span></p><p>“<span>Lemme guess, the empty square is where we need to go,” said Jesse.</span></p><p>“<span>Yep,” confirmed Jack. “That empty square is the nearest stronghold that I found.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Petra stepped forward. “And it’s missing because…?”</span>
</p><p>“<span>I, uh… kinda… burned it,” admitted Jack. “I threw it into a volcano, okay?”</span></p><p>“<span>What? Why?!”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jack glared at Jesse.</span>
</p><p>“<span>You didn’t need that kind of danger anyway, alright?” He said angrily. “I swore I wouldn’t take anyone else to that </span><span>City</span><span> ever again! I refuse to let it take anymore lives.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Nurm made a noise of response, that sounded like he was scoffing in Villagerese.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Shut up, Nurm.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse, confused at first, suddenly realized why Jack didn’t want to help her and Petra out. He was scared. “Oh, I see what’s going on here; you’re scared.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jack scoffed.</span>
</p><p>“<span>No, I’m the one the Apex Hunters of the Sur’gao Pass call ‘Fearless Dagger’. I don’t do </span><span><em>scared</em></span><span>.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jack walked away from them, before stopping, hanging his head down. “I found that very same block once before… teamed up with my friends Vos and Sammy to follow its trail. Neither of them made it out alive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesse felt pity crawl up inside her. This guy had obviously seen his friends die, and it became clear now that he was suffering from not only PTSD, but Survivor’s Guilt too. How could she have just carelessly strolled in her and made him talk about a sensitive topic?</span>
</p><p>“<span>Hence, uh, you know, </span><span><em>lava, map, volcano…</em></span><span> you remember what I was saying, anyway,” continued Jack. “But burning the map couldn’t erase the… horrible memories. And thanks to the curse of my perfect sense of direction, I couldn’t forget the location of that City if I tried.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse finally spoke up. “So if you’re the only one who knows where it is...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jack nodded.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Yep. Without me, you’re never getting to that End City,” he answered. “That knowledge is… my curse.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse, ever the optimist, decided to try and cheer him up.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Jack, Jack! Sounds to me like it’s your lucky day! Petra and I have a lot of great experience helping people get over their tragic backstories!”</span></p><p>
  <span>Petra raised an eyebrow. “We do?”</span>
</p><p>“<span>Yeah?” questioned Jack.</span></p><p>“<span>Yeah! We’ll tackle that </span><span>End City</span><span> together!” suggested Jesse.</span></p><p>
  <span>Jack turned to Nurm, and they both stared at each other before nodding. Jack turned his attention back to Jesse.</span>
</p><p>“<span>You know what? You’ve inspired me. I mean, am I the Velvet Tornado or aren’t I?”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse grinned. “Then yeah! That’s the spirit!”</span>
</p><p>“<span>Yes,” responded Jack, nodding in agreement.</span></p><p>“<span>You.. are, right?” </span><span>Jesse questioned,</span><span> uncertainty in her voice.</span></p><p>
  <span>Jack turned back to Nurm.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Nurm? Time to get our adventuring things!” He said, turning back the other way, Nurm followed behind him. Petra turned to Jesse.</span></p><p>“<span>Jesse! It’s perfect! </span><span><em>Structure Block? </em></span><span><em>End City</em></span><span>?</span><span><em>”</em></span></p><p>“<span>I know, it’s amazing!” Jesse exclaimed, just as excited. “Almost… too good to be true!”</span></p><p>
  <span>Petra raised her right fist into the air. “Augh, YES! And Jack. Man, he is </span>
  <span>
    <em>awesome</em>
  </span>
  <span>, right? I can’t believe it – I’m going on an adventure with Jack, eee!”</span>
</p><p>“<span>I like him! Can’t wait to see him in action out there.”</span></p><p>“<span>I was just thinking the same thing! He actually seems pretty cool...”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse turned around, and overhead Jack and Nurm in an argument. “Nurm, I told you, it’s not the Admin’s--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nurm made a noise of disagreement.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Ugh, fine!” conceded Jack.</span></p><p>“<span>What’d he say?” questioned Jesse.</span></p><p>“<span>Nothin’. Villager stuff. Nurm here… wants to make a new map of this place what with the, uh, whole lava volcano incident.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Nurm nodded.</span>
</p><p>“<span>That’s awesome Nurm, welcome aboard!” welcomed Jesse. Nurm made a noise in response that sounded like ‘Woo-hoo!’</span></p><p>“<span>He says ‘Woo-hoo!’” translated Jack. </span></p><p>“<span>Yeah I figured that out. So that means we’re off to the End?” Jesse asked, turning toward the door. Jack raised his eyebrows.</span></p><p>“<span>Don’t you think you’re looking a little… squishy for that?” Jack commented.</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse looked up and down at the outfit Jack was wearing, brow furrowing.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Seriously? You’re wearing a vest,” protested Jesse.</span></p><p>“<span>The Vest of Five Fists,” corrected Jack. “Gifted to me by the Singing Clerics of Port--”</span></p><p>“<span>Okay, jeez, I get it. It’s a cool vest. C’mon – I just need to make a quick pitstop and I can show you some real armor.”</span></p><p>
  <span>And with that, Jesse led Jack, Nurm and Petra back to the Order Hall.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Author’s Notes: And that’s that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Next chapter, we will really be diverging from Canon.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>More to follow.</span>
</p><p>
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  <br/>
</p><p>
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  <br/>
</p><p>
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  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Act I - Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Act I – Chapter 5</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>Upon entering the Order Hall, Jesse immediately spotted Radar, who was cleaning the Redstone Heart. Radar spotted Jesse, and immediately raced towards her.</p>
<p>"Oh Jesse, I'm so glad you're here," greeted Radar.</p>
<p>"Hey Radar-" began Jesse.</p>
<p>"There is a <em>lot</em> going on," Radar reported, whipping out a book before diving into another one of his fast-paced rambles. "Someone still needs to finalise the ideas for the Founding Day banners. The Cake-Baking Team can't agree on what color to make the front of their shop. The Wool-Makers Guild isn't super happy about their booth being next to the Firework Union, understandable. The delegate from Boom Town left word that she wanted to make a speech at the parade. Very odd? Blue hair? Smells like sulfur? Speaking of which, you should probably work on your Founding Day keynote address."</p>
<p>Jesse rubbed her head, trying to absorb all of that information.</p>
<p>"Oh, and rehearse it!" Radar continued. "Why didn't I factor in rehearsal time? Stupid, STUPID! I'm sure I can shift a few things around, maybe push back your lunch with the Followers of Soren… they're very strange anyway. They'll understand, maybe. And did you know Lukas left another draft for you to look at? I said you'd try and give notes when possible but not to get his hopes up. Annnnd then I left a general block of time for <em>Founding Day Related Disasters</em>. Figured that would cover any of the various and sundry things that come up."</p>
<p>Radar finally looked up, and saw Jesse giving him a look.</p>
<p>"Ahh! Sorry," squeaked Radar, shoving his book away. "Got in the zone there. What's up boss?"</p>
<p>Jesse walked forward and pulled out the purple block.</p>
<p>"I see you brought friends…? And a new special block?"</p>
<p>"Short version? The town's in danger," explained Jesse. "I stopped it for now, but I think this can help me fix it permanently. I'll be gone for a little bit."</p>
<p>Radar jumped, hands smacking his face in shock.</p>
<p>"G-gone? But… Jesse… w-what about Beacontown?" Radar gasped. "Founding Day is right around the corner and… and if it's really in-in-in <em>danger</em>, who will protect everyone? There's no telling what could happen!"</p>
<p>Jesse approached Radar, getting an idea.</p>
<p>"Why don't you try leading them, pal?" she suggested.</p>
<p>Radar's eyes widened, his eyebrows all but disappearing into his hairline.</p>
<p>"What? Me!?" he gibbered. "That's… this is…"</p>
<p>"Try not to explode," said Petra, backing away slightly.</p>
<p>Radar screamed, causing Jesse to wince slightly.</p>
<p>"Jesse," he said, his voice extremely quiet. "I won't let you down."</p>
<p>"I know you won't," Jesse reassured.</p>
<p>"Good luck, boss!" said Radar, raising his hand into a salute gesture. "Beacontown will be waiting for you when you get back."</p>
<p>Radar turned to leave, but Jack made a grunting noise, causing Radar to make a yelp as he jumped away in fright.</p>
<p>"Gah! Um… goodbye?"</p>
<p>Radar turned around and left through the order hall door.</p>
<p>"Heh, you said it," remarked Jack, turning back around. "Can't believe <em>that's</em> your assistant. He's more wound up than a pack of parrots with a jukebox. Or a… creeper in a herd of cats. Or a… squid in a, I don't- a box or somethi- I, anyway, he's real nervous is what I'm saying."</p>
<p>Jesse nodded. "He's a little nuts, but his heart's in the right place."</p>
<p>"Hmph, if you say so. So, where's this armour of yours?"</p>
<p>They began to move towards the armour stands at the end of the hall, Jack glancing around at the various items Jesse had collected over the years.</p>
<p>"Oh wow, you've got some pretty cool stuff here. Stuff I've never, er, probably only seen, y'know, once or twice."</p>
<p>Petra was bouncing with excitement.</p>
<p>"Not as cool as <em>my</em> stuff obviously," continued Jack. "But you're well on your way. Definitely on your way to becoming a big hero like me. Not as big of course, but, uh… y'know, a real, real great swing."</p>
<p>Not as big? Where was he all these years? Jesse and her group of friends were some of the most famous heroes in the land.</p>
<p>"Yeah? You ever fought a Wither-Storm? Or the Old Builders?" she said, raising an eyebrow.</p>
<p>"Well yeah, Well um well..." Jack stammered. "Uh, no. Not specifically those… but, uh you know. I did stuff."</p>
<p>"Wanna cool the ego there, Jesse?" teased Petra. "Jack's done some amazing stuff too."</p>
<p>They reached the place where the armour stands were supposed to be. Jesse grinned, knowing exactly why they were missing. Jack and Petra on the other hand were mystified.</p>
<p>"Hey wait, is this not where you keep your armour anymore?" asked Petra, confused.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I'm not seeing any armour," agreed Jack.</p>
<p>"No, no. I just had Olivia install a little upgrade while she was here," said Jesse, approaching a lever. With a ka-chunk, Jesse threw the lever. Olivia's voice rang out throughout the Order hall.</p>
<p>
  <em>'Initiating Armor-up sequence!'</em>
</p>
<p>The stands with the sets of armor on them rose into place one-by-one.</p>
<p>"Eh?" shrugged Petra.</p>
<p>"Pfft. Yeah, I got one of those too," scoffed Jack.</p>
<p>Seeing the dumbfounded look on their faces, Jesse chuckled. Ivor was a well-skilled enchanter, Jesse had to say that, but out of all of his armor sets, she had eyes for one set only, and that was Dragonsbane.</p>
<p>"<em>Dragonsbane,</em>" she said. "So cool."</p>
<p>"Great name too," Jack commented, giving it a look of approval. "Color me impressed, I am."</p>
<p>Jesse walked forward, and slipped the armor on. A glowing enchanted diamond sword rose on the pedestal to the right, which she picked up, holding it high. Petra started clapping.</p>
<p>"Ooh, you look ferocious-" she broke into giggles. "I couldn't even keep a straight face saying that."</p>
<p>Jesse sheathed her sword.</p>
<p>"Now that's more like it," said Petra as Jesse stepped forward.</p>
<p>"Agreed," agreed Jack.</p>
<p>"Hey, uh, can you just give me and Jesse a minute?" Petra requested.</p>
<p>"Huh?"</p>
<p>Nurm made a disappointed noise before walking off, Jack walking after him. As they walked towards the other end of the Order Hall, Petra turned to Jesse.</p>
<p>"Listen, with the Heckmouth and everything, I feel like I didn't get to properly apologize. For all the stuff with my sword… Champion City..." Petra began. Jesse was astonished, Petra would normally consider this stuff <em>sappy</em>. This was a first. "So… I'm sorry. You won't hear it again, so don't get used to it. I'll totally deny everything later."</p>
<p>And that is the Petra that Jesse knows.</p>
<p>"I appreciate it," said Jesse. "I mean, it's pretty big of you."</p>
<p>Petra gave Jesse a look of outrage.</p>
<p>"Hey! Look, I really meant it-" she protested.</p>
<p>Jesse made a zipping lips gesture. Petra got the point.</p>
<p>"Ah, it really is big of me, isn't it?" she agreed. "Okay, now with that sappy stuff out of the way, let's go see about this Ender City of Hell."</p>
<p>They turned towards Jack and Nurm.</p>
<p>"Jack? Nurm? You guys ready to go?" asked Jesse.</p>
<p>"Always."</p>
<p>"So… where are we going exactly?"</p>
<p>'It's time to chart a course… for Hell's Desert,' he said dramatically. Nurm stepped in and vocalized his disagreement. 'Shut up Nurm, it's an awesome name!'</p>
<p>Whoever these places belonged to, they certainly need to come up with better names, that's for sure. Ender City of Hell? Hell's Desert? They're certainly big on the whole 'Hell' thing.</p>
<p>Over the course of the night, the quartet traveled throughout the desert, making a quick stop in the chaos known only as Boom Town to explain to Axel and Magnus what was going on, but they weren't really listening, so they continued on.</p>
<p>"So I <em>leapt</em> off the cliff, mournful blade in hand and drove it right into the head of the Ikthara Zombie," Jack finished recounting. "Grrr! Yah! I slept on an enormous pile of diamonds that night."</p>
<p>"Enourmous!?" gasped Petra. "Oh, I can only imagine!"</p>
<p>Yep, Jack seemed to have completely gotten Petra's attention. Jesse couldn't help but feel slightly out of place as they got along famously.</p>
<p>"Oh yeah, pretty typical day for me," said Jack. "You'll see – After this, I'll take you to this amazing Woodland Mansion I found."</p>
<p>"Yeah! Let's make that happen," Petra agreed.</p>
<p>"It's <em>really</em> far from here," Jack warned.</p>
<p>"I love it."</p>
<p>"It's almost <em>certain</em> death."</p>
<p>"I wouldn't have it any other way."</p>
<p>Was Petra even listening to Jack, or was she just simply going along with whatever he said?</p>
<p>"Hey, can I come too?" asked Jesse, feeling slightly left out.</p>
<p>"Oh! Yeah! 'Course," Petra said, giving Jesse a sheepish look. "I just assumed you'd be busy, like, running Beacontown."</p>
<p>"But yeah, the more the merrier," added Jack.</p>
<p>They finally reached a spot in the terrain that Jack happened to recognize. He stopped and turned towards Jesse, Nurm and Petra.</p>
<p>"Alright, before we go down there. I feel I should give you one last warning. The <em>rules</em> as you know them? How the world works? Those don't always apply in this End City."</p>
<p>Nurm made a noise from behind Jesse and Petra, completely startling them.</p>
<p>"Some people believe it's because the Ender City of Hell was made… by the Admin," finished Jack.</p>
<p>"The what?" asked Jesse, confused.</p>
<p>"She's supposed to be some all-powerful ancient person, built the world. I dunno," Jack scoffed. "But the legend of the Admin is just that; A legend. A story. Buncha superstitious malarkey, frankly. I've been to the swamps of Foon-jar and back, and that's still one of the more ridiculous things I've ever heard."</p>
<p>"Well, that sounds like a load of junk," agreed Jesse.</p>
<p>"Glad we agree," said Jack. "But just remember – What you're gonna see in this place… it'll stay with you."</p>
<p>Jack began to make slow steps across the sand.</p>
<p>"We used this terrain as our staging area last time we were here…"</p>
<p>"How can you be so sure it's the same one?" asked Petra.</p>
<p>"Uh, perfect internal compass," Jack mumbled in response, starting to dig. "The end portal is directly below us. It's like I can feel it."</p>
<p>"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Jesse enthusiastically.</p>
<p>"Er, that's the spirit!" Jack responded, not so enthusiastically. He dug until he found an alcove with a chest in it. He opened it up and took out what appeared to be special Enchanted Pumpkins? How is that even possible? "Picked up these Enchanted Pumpkins. They're enchanted so that you can look at Endermen without setting them off, while being able to see at the same time."</p>
<p>Jack passed one to Jesse, Petra and Nurm, before continuing to dig down, with Jesse helping out.</p>
<p>They dug down, and reached the stronghold, containing an already active End Portal. Without hesitation, they jumped in; entering the End.</p>
<p>As always, the End was completely packed with hauntings of Endermen. As Jack opened his mouth to explain where they're going, Jesse spotted a shorter figure in the distance. It was not black and purple like the rest of the Endermen. Instead, it had bright ginger hair, and was wearing what appeared to be old grayish armor, with fingerless gauntlets. Jesse recognized this figure at once. This man was none other than Soren the Architect, leader of the Old Order of the Stone.</p>
<p>"Soren?" Jesse called out.</p>
<p>"Soren!?" repeated Jack and Petra, astonished. Jesse pointed to Soren, who turned around after hearing his name called. He spotted the three of them, recognizing Petra's long orange hair and Jesse's familiar purple armor.</p>
<p>"Jesse?" he asked, voice sounding hoarse, like it had been a while since he last spoke. As Jesse began to approach him, a fearful expression filled his face, and he turned tail and ran.</p>
<p>"Soren!" called Jesse again as she began to run after him. "Soren, wait!"</p>
<p>Eventually, Soren reached the long-winding staircase going up towards his lab, and they gained ground on him. Eventually, Soren stopped and turned away, backing away from them in fear.</p>
<p>"Jesse, whatever you're thinking, I swear I can explain!" he pleaded. "I didn't mean to run away like that! It was chaos, and I got scared!"</p>
<p>Jesse realized at once what Soren was nervous about. He thought Jesse was still angry at him. Back when they were fighting the Wither-Storm, Soren had ran away, leaving Jesse and her friends to fight the Wither-Storm alone. And although Jesse was angry at the time, she didn't hold it against him.</p>
<p>"Whoa, whoa, Soren! Calm down," Jesse reasoned. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm not even angry at you."</p>
<p>Soren stopped and raised an eyebrow. "Really?"</p>
<p>Jesse nodded. "Really."</p>
<p>Soren took a deep breath, before slowly standing up. "So, what became of the Wither-Storm?"</p>
<p>"Oh, that? We defeated it ages ago. Now, my friends and I are some of the most famous people in the land. We're known as the New Order of the Stone!"</p>
<p>"It's true! You should've seen it," Petra spoke up.</p>
<p>Jesse half-expected Soren to be angry at her for taking that name, but instead, he just gave them a pensive look.</p>
<p>"To be honest with you, you and your friends deserve that title more than us," he admitted. He looked down near Jesse's feet, and noticed something. "Um, where's your pig?"</p>
<p>Jesse froze, did Soren not know about that? Did he really isolate himself from any human contact for seven whole years? Considering he didn't know what happened with the Wither-Storm, Jesse wasn't surprised. Jesse heaved a deep sigh. Even now, talking about Reuben was still painful.</p>
<p>"Reuben? He died during the fight with the Wither-Storm," Jesse answered, her mood somber. "He saved us all."</p>
<p>"Oh," replied Soren. "I'm… sorry."</p>
<p>Jesse noticed Jack, who hadn't spoken at all during their confrontation, instead he was looking at Soren with the same expression on his face that Petra had only hours beforehand. He was rapidly gesturing to Nurm.</p>
<p>"Oh, ohmi- ohmigosh! Do you know who that is?" he whispered to Nurm. "That is Soren! Original freaking leader of the Order of the freaking Stone!"</p>
<p>Soren looked down slightly. It seems he is slightly ashamed of this detail.</p>
<p>"That is a legend, standing in front of us, Nurm. Within arm's reach!"</p>
<p>Jesse had to chuckle. Just hours ago, Petra was freaking out exactly the same way about Jack, and now her idol is doing the same to Soren.</p>
<p>"Trust me, Jack," she said. "Best thing around Soren? Just be yourself."</p>
<p>"Uh, yeah, that… makes a whole lotta sense. Thanks, Jesse. Well, here goes-"</p>
<p>He turned to Soren, and cleared his throat. "Soren? Of the Original Order of the Stone?! This is quite the pleasure,"</p>
<p>Soren chuckled nervously, his face betraying a look of uncertainty. "Indeed I am, although at times, I wish that I wasn't. And you are?"</p>
<p>"Oh, me? Oh I'm, uh- the, uh… stalk… the um-" Jack was at a complete loss for words. "-stab… well, from the… I'm, ah, nobody. How are ya?"</p>
<p>"He's Jack," chuckled Petra.</p>
<p>"I figured," said Soren. "And trust me Jack, you don't need to act nervous around me. I'm not the legendary hero that you think I am."</p>
<p>"Oh, I, uh, I know that," Jack responded. "I know what happened between you and the rest of the Old Order, but I'm still a fan regardless."</p>
<p>"Anyway! We were here to investigate this End City that Jack here has been telling us about," explained Jesse. "Jack here says that this apparently is supposed to be an End City of Hell or whatever, and it's supposed to contain this powerful block known as the 'Structure Block'."</p>
<p>Jesse watched Soren's eyes widen to the size of saucers as she explained what she and the others were here to look for.</p>
<p>"I-you...? Please tell me I'm hearing you wrong," stammered Soren. "Tell me you did not just mention the Structure Block and the Ender City of Hell."</p>
<p>Jesse raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah. Yes I did."</p>
<p>"Jesse, you can't! That city belongs to the Admin!" exclaimed Soren frantically. "This is one mega-dangerous woman you're planning to steal from here! If she finds out, she will kill you!"</p>
<p>"I- you seriously believe in that malarkey?" Jack questioned, annoyed.</p>
<p>"Oh, trust me Jack, the Admin is very real," said Soren seriously. "And very dangerous. She and that city are so dangerous that even the Endermen stay away. It'll be suicide going there."</p>
<p>Jesse couldn't help but start to have second thoughts about going on this adventure with Jack after hearing Soren's tone right now. Was she making a grave mistake here? Who should she listen to, Jack or Soren?</p>
<p>"You're right," sighed Jack. "I went there once with my friends, Vos and Sammy. I was the only one who got out alive."</p>
<p>"You did? You actually escaped the Admin's clutches?" Soren asked, astounded.</p>
<p>Jack looked away, a distant look within his eyes. "Yes."</p>
<p>Soren turned to Jesse, a stern look within his gaze.</p>
<p>"Jesse, why do you need this Structure Block anyway?"</p>
<p>In response, Jesse whipped out the block that she found over the heckmouth.</p>
<p>"This. When I touched it, I experienced visions of this high-pitched laughing woman and I blacked out. Next thing I knew, Petra was waking me up at the surface, and telling me that a bottomless pit had formed in the ground where I found it."</p>
<p>"Oh. Oh, dear," said Soren. "This is not good."</p>
<p>"Yeah, Jack here says that we need the structure block to close the pit, otherwise it's just going to keep shooting out Ender mobs," agreed Jesse.</p>
<p>Soren closed his eyes and took a deep breath, turning away from Jesse and the group.</p>
<p>"The Admin," he started. "One of the most vile and sickest individuals I've ever had the chance of finding out about. What I'm about to tell you, is something that must be kept secret."</p>
<p>"Soren, I solemnly swear that we will never reveal what you're about to tell us," Jesse took the oath.</p>
<p>"Thank you Jesse," said Soren. "Now, I know all of you believe that there is nothing underneath the bedrock layer, but let me be the first to tell you that there is much more waiting to be discovered down there. You see, underneath the bedrock lies the ruins of an ancient land that was once populated with humans, like us. I used to live down there you see. I lived in a place that, if I can remember correctly, was once called 'Fred's Keep'."</p>
<p>"Fred's Keep?" repeated Jesse.</p>
<p>"Yes, it's all a blur, since it occurred a long time ago, but then the Admin came and bedrocked over everything. Don't ask me how I got above the bedrock though, you'd never believe me if I told you.</p>
<p>"When I resurfaced, I struck a friendship with Magnus, Gabriel, Ivor and Ellegaard, and formed the Order of the Stone. And that's when I found it; the Command Block.</p>
<p>"I admit what I did was bad, falsifying our legacy like that, but the real reason I locked the Command Block away afterward was because it was only a matter of time before the Admin figured out what it was. I never imagined that Ivor would manage to get his dirty hands on it though."</p>
<p>Jesse felt slightly angry hearing Soren badmouth Ivor like that. Sure what Ivor did with the Wither-Storm was bad, but he had long since made up for it. Jesse also got the impression that Soren wasn't telling the whole story, that he was deliberately leaving an important detail out. At the moment, considering they had an End City to get to, she'd let it slide, but later on, she would get the truth out of him.</p>
<p>"I've made my choice, Jesse," Soren finally continued after a long silence. "I want to accompany you four to the Ender City of Hell. I can't just live with myself if you guys went off to your doom and I didn't try to help or hinder you in any way."</p>
<p>Jesse did a double-take, Soren finally manning up and wanting to go with them? This was a different Soren to the one who ran away during the final show-down with the Wither-Storm.</p>
<p>"Wow, that's…. big of you," Jesse finally managed.</p>
<p>"Oh my gosh, I can't believe it! Soren, <em>the</em> Soren, is coming with us on an adventure, Nurm!" Jack exclaimed. "This is so exciting."</p>
<p>And thus, after a bit of prep, they left Soren's lab, en-route to the Ender City of Hell.</p>
<p>Author's Notes: Wow, This chapter took a LOT longer than I expected it to. Two-to-four month long writer's block I just overcame there.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Anyhow, so it seems Soren is now with the group.</p>
<p>Yes, I know I could've come up with a better name for that place.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up another story.</p>
<p>More to follow.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Act I - Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Act I – Chapter 6</p><hr/><p>(Apologies for not getting this up yesterday, I had some IRL stuff going on.)</p><hr/><p>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</p><hr/><p>Luckily, Soren had a stack of Ender Pearls on hand, meaning they didn’t have to manually cross the one thousand block gap between the main island where the exit portal and his fortress was and the outer end island where all of the other end cities were located. All they had to do was throw them into the floating bedrock gateway, which will warp them across the gap.</p><p>After warping across the gap, Jack stepped forward and took the lead.</p><p>“End City’s… that way,” he pointed, in a direction towards their left.</p><p>“How-?” began Petra.</p><p>“Compass,” answered Jack, interrupting.</p><p>“Right! Oh, that’s so cool,” said Petra, glancing at Jesse, who simply shook her head.</p><p>“Those pumpkins might stop the Enderman from attacking, but it doesn’t completely fool them, per-se,” added Soren. “I’d recommend not looking at them if you can.”</p><p>“I’ll keep that in mind.”</p><p>They continued to follow Jack throughout the islands, navigating around chorus plant forests and endermen, until they reached a sizable gap in the cluster of islands. Looking out, they could see what appeared to be a giant island with a gigantic build right in the middle of it. This must be the ‘Ender City of Hell’ that Jack was talking about, since even Soren looked impressed. Only problem was that it looked nothing like an End City. It instead appeared to be a giant building that went down into the island, not up like the other End Cities that they had passed.</p><p>“Whoa,” gawked Jesse.</p><p>“There she is,” Jack pointed out.</p><p>“Incredible!” commented Petra.</p><p>They crossed the gap toward the island, where they were immediately swarmed by the same types of ‘Ender’ mobs that had been coming out of the Heckmouth back in the Overworld. This time, they were teleporting in.</p><p>“Jesse! Behind you!” warned Soren, and sure enough, an Ender-Creeper was in her face, ready to send Jesse into next week. Jesse whipped out her sword and impaled the Ender-Creeper with it, cutting the imminent explosion short. The window of relief was short-lived, as more were rejoining their fallen comrade.</p><p>“We gotta move!” yelled Jesse, as she and the rest of the gang hurried towards the gigantic End City. They arrived at an entrance hallway that was sealed by a door with a hand shaped hole in the middle of it.</p><p>“There! That’s where the block goes!” said Jack. Jesse huried forward and slammed the purple block into it, watching the hole light up in a bright magenta color as it created a shockwave, eliminating all the Ender mobs that had been swarming them. The door slowly opened as Jesse removed the block from the door.</p><p>“Awesome!”</p><p>“That’s amazi—Ah!” Jesse was interrupted by even more Ender mobs teleporting in, which had rapidly rejoined the fight. “Quick! Get inside!”</p><p>And get inside they did. The door snapped shut right behind them, separating them from the endless swarm of mobs outside. After deciding that it was safe, they removed their enchanted pumpkins.</p><p>“Now, if we’re sure that we have all our limbs… how ‘bout we find that Structure Block?” suggested Jesse, as they walked down the dimly magenta lit corridor.</p><p>As they walked down the corridor, it slowly opened up into a large open space, with a bridge in the middle of it and four giant statues stood on both sides of it. As they entered the room however, the statues came to life, and shifted their heads to stare at each of them, eye sockets lighting up with a vibrant purple color. The group instantly stopped.</p><p>Soren looked like he wanted nothing more than to turn and run like he did years ago with the Wither-Storm. Petra, Jesse and Nurm all were extremely pale, but that was nothing compared to Jack. He stood, rooted to the spot in sheer terror. Nurm made a few vocalizations of fear.</p><p>“Nngh,” Jack trembled. “I forgot they did that.”</p><p>“Okay, that’s not normal,” commented Petra.</p><p>“Agreed!” Soren agreed. “Then again, the Admin herself isn’t normal either.”</p><p>They slowly crossed the bridge, the giant Ender statues moving their heads to stare at each of them as they crossed.</p><p>“Pretty impressive, right Petra?” Jack started, but Jesse wasn’t paying attention to him, she was more preoccupied with the statues that were creepily staring at them.</p><p>“Oh, man, those things are creeeepy!” Jesse said in a sing-song voice as she walked past them.</p><p>“Hehehehe, yeah,” Soren chuckled nervously.</p><p>“-the carvings in this place aren’t like anywhere else in the world,” Jack finished explaining to Petra.</p><p>“Really?”</p><p>“Yup, completely unique. No one’s quite sure why… but you’ll never have an experience like this ever again.”</p><p>Nurm added in his own comment, which only Jack understood.</p><p>“What’d he say?” asked Petra.</p><p>“He said, uh, he agrees. And that you’re super lucky to be here with me,” translated Jack.</p><p>“My brain can barely process them as statues they’re so big.”</p><p>As they reached the end of the walkway, Jack, who had become increasingly scared of the statues, suddenly stopped. “I… I’m gonna need a sec. Just to… check my enchantments. Yeah, gotta make sure they’re all there...”</p><p>“Okay...” answered Petra. “Well, I’m gonna scout ahead.”</p><p>Jesse looked at Soren, who gave her a knowing look. While Jack may have had Petra fooled, they both knew what was really going on with him. He was suffering from PTSD. Jesse wanted to smash her head into a wall. How did she not factor that possibility when taking him with them. It should’ve been obvious with the way how he acted back in their shop. Nurm vocalized a sound of concern, indicating he understood too.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” Jesse asked.</p><p>“Ah-uh, nothing. Nothing. Must’ve hit a patch of soul sand or something,” Jack lied. Jesse knew straight away he was lying, as he was pretty terrible at it. “Ooh! Whoa! S’got me.. like.. frozen in place.”</p><p>Jesse stepped forward.</p><p>“I know it’s pretty intense, but you don’t have to be scared Jack,” she said.</p><p>“But this is way harder than I thought it would be. Hooo boy.”</p><p>“You’re going to be okay.”</p><p>Jack thought about it, before eventually straightening himself up. “You’re right. Thanks Jesse.”</p><p>“GUYS! HEY! I FOUND SOMETHING!” echoed Petra’s voice.</p><p>“Uh, be right there!” Jack called, reaching forward and grabbing Jesse and Soren. “Hey, uh… Let’s, uh, just keep this between you guys and me, okay? She’s a fan. It’s… nice. Look, you have no idea how it feels. To have everyone around you think you’re some… has-been.”</p><p>“Don’t worry Jack, we all get scared from time to time,” said Jesse.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah… I guess,” Jack stammered.</p><p>“Trust me, Jack. I know exactly how you feel,” added Soren. “Look at me, I hid in the end for years because I didn’t want to man up and face those people after I ran away from them in a time of need. Even though I was taking a huge risk, hiding in the same dimension as one of my potential enemies.”</p><p>“Hehehehe, thanks.” chuckled Jack.</p><p>Petra re-appeared behind them. “I found the next door down there, but it needs that block thingy of yours.”</p><p>Jesse, Soren and Jack simply glanced at each other. Petra raised an eyebrow. “What’s keeping you guys?”</p><p>“Uh, uh. Nothing, absolutely nothing,” Jack said, playing it cool. “Let’s check it out.”</p><p>They began to descend the stairs, Jesse stopping to admire a glowing build in the distance.</p><p>“Sure, let’s see how <em>cool</em> you think it is when your life is on the line,” said Jack as Jesse commented on it.</p><p>Jesse raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“Inches from the abyss.”</p><p>Nurm vocalized his disagreement.</p><p>“I know what I’m talking about, Nurm.”</p><p>“Pretty, uh, pretty intense though,” said Petra.</p><p>Jesse continued walking down the stairs, past Jack and Petra. “Just do what I do, and you’ll be fine, alright?”</p><p>“Oh really-?” Jack began.</p><p>“In case you have forgotten Jack, Jesse did kill a huge Wither-Storm,” Soren interrupted.</p><p>“I mean, yeah. Yeah. You’re the boss.”</p><p>They reached the bottom of the stairs, toward the door which had another slot for the purple block. Jesse placed the block inside, watched the hole light up magenta as the door slid up into the ceiling. It rapidly closed right behind them as they entered the room.</p><p>What they saw in-front of them made Jesse do an immediate double take. There were blocks of water on both sides of the giant chamber. Inside, were purple Ender versions of large spiky Elder Guardians. One turned around and looked straight in Jesse’s direction. The laser coming from it’s eye missed Jesse’s head only by a mere inch as she and the rest of the group ducked away.</p><p>“Whoa, that was too close,” she panted. “Do you remember any of this Jack?”</p><p>“I… hn. It’s all a blur.”</p><p>Soren spoke up.</p><p>“This room is meant to be a <em>test</em> if I’m not mistaken. To see if the trespasser can prove themselves <em>worthy</em> of the structure block,” he explained.</p><p>“Okay, we’ve got, Ender… Guardians in floating water blocks…?” Jesse trailed off. How was that even possible? “Water… floating in mid-air?! That should be impossible!”</p><p>“Well, if I know one thing, it is definitely NOT the Admin,” Jack said.</p><p>“Only the Admin would be capable of creating that kind of stuff, Jack,” argued Soren. Nurm voiced in agreement. “Whether you like it or not, that is <em>definitely</em> the work of the Admin.”</p><p>Jesse could sense an argument between Jack and Soren brewing. Right now, she agreed with Soren, so she spoke up.</p><p>“Yeah, what if Soren’s right? What if it is real? The Admin, I mean?” Jesse asked.</p><p>“Thank you!” exclaimed Soren.</p><p>“Ugh, trapped down here with a bunch of softheaded shulkers...” snarled Jack. Soren glared at him.</p><p>“Well, I don’t know about an Admin… but I really, <em>really</em> don’t like that floating water,” said Petra.</p><p>Jesse glanced back around, and she saw above them what appeared to be glowing obsidian cages? “What are those things for? And it looks like it’s made of glowing obsidian.”</p><p>Jesse looked to her left and saw a stack of sponge blocks next to the floating water.</p><p>“Okay, those sponges might be just the thing to soak up the water and leave the Guardians high and dry.”</p><p>She turned back to the group.</p><p>“Right, so we’re going to use the sponges on the floating water, dry it up and that should take out the Guardians,” she explained.</p><p>“Dibs on that job,” Jack called. “I think those stupid fish owe me.”</p><p>Nurm nodded in agreement.</p><p>“Okay, but someone’s going to need to run the other way and distract the Guardians, right? Buy you guys time?” Petra suggested.</p><p>“Wouldn’t mind having some backup – Whoever isn’t doing the running...”</p><p>“Petra, I know you can do this. Jack, Soren and I will grab the sponges,” Jesse said.</p><p>Petra nodded. “Cool, I’m on it.”</p><p>As they got ready, Jesse saw Jack and Nurm do a cool handshake.</p><p>“Okay everyone, let’s get nuts!”</p><p>“Ready!” said Jack.</p><p>“Ready!” said Petra.</p><p>“R-Ready!” said Soren.</p><p>“Then GO!”</p><p>Petra bolted out from cover and ran out into full view of the Guardians.</p><p>“Hey Scaleheads!” She taunted. “Zap THIS.”</p><p>She did a slide, and launched into a jump as the guardians tried to zap her.</p><p>“Soren, Jack, c’mon!” whispred Jesse as they followed Petra out and raced towards the sponge blocks. Jesse quickly dug one up and threw it right through the floating water block, causing it to soak up, leaving the guardian fish flopping around on the platform. Unsheathing her sword, she plunged it straight into the fish, causing it to poof into smoke instantly. “It’s working! IT’S WORKING!”</p><p>Jack on the other hand, was completely frozen in place, staring at a pile of inventory.</p><p>“Oh no! No, no,” he whispered. “V-V-Vos...”</p><p>“Jack! What are you doing?” exclaimed Soren, leaping in and repeating what Jesse did on the other Guardian, killing it. Jack fell straight to his knees.</p><p>“I’m… I’m so sorry,” he apologized, sniffling.</p><p>“Hey, care to explain yourself Jack?” scolded Jesse angrily.</p><p>“I don’t have to explain no… ugh! You’re right. I really messed up.”</p><p>“Understatement of the year,” commented Soren.</p><p>“I’m really sorry everyone. That pile of inventory there? That was my friend… Vos,” Jack hysterically explained.</p><p>“Jack...” Petra pitied.</p><p>“No! I don’t need your pity! I don’t… I don’t deserve it. I need to be alone right now,” he said. “Whatever’s left of Sammy, should be somewhere in here too...”</p><p>And Jack slowly walked off into a corner, Nurm following him.</p><p>“I don’t know about you two,” Jesse said to Soren and Petra. “But I want out of this room. Structure Block’s gotta be close.”</p><p>Soren and Petra nodded and walked off in their own directions. Jesse meanwhile walked over to the loot that the guardians dropped and picked them up.</p><p>“Mine!”</p><p>Petra took the loot on the other platform. Jesse then turned her attention to the glowing obsidian cages on the ceiling. “Glowing obsidian… so strange...”</p><p>“Uh, hello? Is someone there?” a female voice responded.</p><p>Jesse, caught by surprise, jumped back.</p><p>“Uh, what?! Hello?!”</p><p>“YES! THANK GOODNESS! I KNEW I JUST HEARD SOMEONE THERE!” the voice exclaimed. Jesse couldn’t place her finger on it, but it sounded slightly familiar. “I believe if you’re able to solve the puzzle, you can get my cage open too! Please? I’ve been in this place for so long!”</p><p>“How’d you get up there though?” asked Jesse.</p><p>“I got trapped a long time ago. Please, just get me out of here! I’ll tell you more after,” The voice was pleading. “You can do that, right?”</p><p>Jesse, while figuring out a way to solve the puzzle and rescue their mysterious friend, approached Jack who was standing with Vos’ inventory in the corner.</p><p>“Jack you okay?”</p><p>“Don’t really feel like being talked to right now, Jesse,” he said. “I’m brooding.”</p><p>Jesse approached the exit door, and took a huge look at it. Looks like some sort of pattern on the left side, which Jesse figured that she had to replicate on the right side.</p><p>While figuring out a way to acquire the items required for the door, Jesse approached Nurm.</p><p>“Hey Nurm,” she greeted.</p><p>Nurm turned around and made a noise of greeting back. He continued to vocalize worriedly.</p><p>“Ah, yeah, you must be worried about Jack, right?”</p><p>Nurm nodded.</p><p>“He’ll be okay,” Jesse reassured.</p><p>Nurm made another sad vocalization.</p><p>“Uh, yeah,” said Jesse, scratching her head. “I’ll get back to this.”</p><p>Jesse continued through her monotonous search to get the materials required for the door. She looked through chests, looked at the door, and realized that the loot that the Ender-Guardians had dropped was key to opening the door. After a lot of crafting and observing, Jesse finally managed to complete the pattern within the exit door.</p><p>As soon as she completed the pattern, the door opened up, revealing another dimly lit hallway, while the cages behind her opened up, the last row of cages dropping a screaming figure out of it, who landed face-down on the floor.</p><p>Jesse approached her as their mysterious friend got to her feet, coughing. She was taller than Jesse, had long, messy, dark-brown hair, covered partially by a large farmer hat and was wearing a brown coat, with a strap across her chest and leggings similar to Petra.</p><p>“Ugh! Thank goodness, I’m free!” She exclaimed, before coughing again. “Ugh, man. Long time in there, ugh!”</p><p>The group crowded around Jesse and this mysterious person, but none looked as shocked to see her as Jack, who was literally standing there, gaping with his mouth wide open and his eyes as wide as saucers.</p><p>“SAMMY!” Jack screamed, before engulfing her in a hug!</p><p>“Jack!” She greeted back.</p><p>“Wait, this is another one of your adventurer friends?” asked Petra.</p><p>“Yes! This is my friend Sammy!” Jack exclaimed. “I thought you were a goner, amigo!”</p><p>“This is unbelievable,” whispered Petra.</p><p>“But Jack said he saw you die!” said Jesse.</p><p>“Yeah, it must have been one of those filthy tricks of this place! Surely you must’ve seen what this place is,” responded Sammy. “Well, it’s so good to meet you all. What are your names?”</p><p>“I’m Jesse,” introduced Jesse. “This is Petra, and this ginger-fellow here is Soren.”</p><p>“Soren? As in, Soren the Architect?” gasped Sammy, eyes widening as she saw Soren between Jesse and Nurm. “<em>The</em> Soren? Of the Order of the Stone?”</p><p>Soren gave a nervous chuckle. “Yes, indeed I am.”</p><p>“Awesome to meet you!” said Sammy. “Anyhow, if I’m right, I think you guys are the first people to make it this far into Hyl. You guys are truly something special.”</p><p>“She has her moments,” Petra shrugged.</p><p>“Hyl?” questioned Jesse. “I thought this place was the Ender City of Hell.”</p><p>“No, Jesse. Hyl,” corrected Sammy, spelling it out. “That’s the true name of this place. It isn’t commonly known other. That other name was something that got slapped together by some travelers who only took one look at this place and fled. Trust me, spending fifty or so years in an obsidian box, overhearing that vile woman’s mutterings can give you some pretty accurate information.</p><p>“So, we’re getting out of here, right? Escape time?” asked Sammy, looking hopeful.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Yeah, what?” agreed Petra.</p><p>“Come on, Jesse. You’ve made it this far without a scratch, and you’re still alive. And you know what they say; better safe than sorry!” Sammy reasoned, walking back toward the exit door. “Besides, I really want to get out of the End and see the sunshine again. Man, I hope it’s as good as I remember.”</p><p>“Sorry Sammy,” apologized Jesse. “Not until we get the treasure that we came here for.”</p><p>“Yep,” agreed Petra.</p><p>Jack sighed, approaching Sammy.</p><p>“Even I’ll admit… it would be nice to finally get some closure on this place.”</p><p>Sammy stammered, looking for a way to argue her way out, but finally conceded. “Fine, but if you get us killed after all of this, I will not be very happy when we meet again in the afterlife.”</p><p>They continued on through the next hallway and reached the door, which had another slot for the purple block that Jesse had in her inventory. As she used it to open the door, they heard a bunch of mob noises from right behind them.</p><p>“That’s a bad sound,” whispered Jack.</p><p>Sure enough, when they turned around, they saw a swarm of more Ender mobs teleporting in, facing toward them.</p><p>“Yep, very bad!” said Petra.</p><p>“Come on, come on, come on!” yelled Jesse as they rushed through the door, which snapped shut, separating them from the mobs.</p><hr/><p>Author’s Notes: Yep, gonna end this here. So, Sammy’s here instead of Vos. But I think we all know what’s <em>really</em> happening here. Hehehehehehe.</p><p> </p><p>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</p><p>More to follow.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Act I - Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Act I – Chapter 7</p><hr/><p>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</p><hr/><p>"Heh-heh, adventuring, woo! Heh!" panted Jack as they stopped to catch their breaths.</p><p>Soren approached the door.</p><p>"What are those things anyway?!" he asked. "They're kinda shaped like regular mobs, they sound like <em>Endermen</em>, but those are definitely not mobs we've seen before."</p><p>The group glanced towards another long staircase, going up this time. As soon as Jesse reached the top and got a glance at what was inside this next room. She sprinted forward.</p><p>"Oh, wow. Wow!"</p><p>It was a huge room, which was unlike the other rooms that they had been in. Jesse's voice echoed around the cavernous room.</p><p>"Sammy, Nurm. We did it. We're inside!" Jack celebrated.</p><p>"Yes! YES! And it is incredible!" Sammy added.</p><p>"Okay guys," said Jesse. "Structure block's gotta be in here."</p><p>"How do you know?" asked Petra.</p><p>"Just… a feeling, I guess?"</p><p>Before following Jack and Sammy up the stairs, Jesse took a look at what appeared to be some kind of… portal frame?</p><p>"I feel like this is important, but I don't really know why," she commented.</p><p>"Yes, that's quite unlike any portal frame I've ever seen before," agreed Soren.</p><p>Jesse backtracked and climbed the staircase off to the side, which led her up to where Jack, Nurm and Sammy were, beside a wall with runes carved into it. She turned to Nurm.</p><p>"Hey Nurm, think you could give me a hand with these?" asked Jesse.</p><p>Nurm began to read it out, Jack translating what he is saying.</p><p>"Nurmie says they say, 'Once the world was flat; No mountains, no rivers, no trees. Until the Admin – Ugh! - built the mountains, sculpted the rivers, crafted the trees'. Bunch of superstitious malarky."</p><p>"<em>That</em>, I agree with," said Soren. "There was no such time where there were no trees and what-not, but the Admin is still very real."</p><p>"Ugh!" groaned Jack as he rolled his eyes and continued on with the rest of the group. They stopped at another wall full of runes.</p><p>"Nurm, sorry to bother you again, but-"</p><p>Nurm began to read out this next set of runes. Jack behind him, translating.</p><p>"'After having one of her most precious creations stolen, the Admin retreated into the End, biding her time, until the thief eventually would return.'" Jack translated. "Can't believe you buy into this stuff, Soren. That's obviously just the cop-out way of saying 'She never really existed.'"</p><p>"Argh! Fine, I'm not going to try anymore. Come to me once you're no longer in ignorance," huffed Soren.</p><p>Jesse ascended another set of stairs, reaching a platform, which held two sets of glowing blocks.</p><p>"This must be it," Jack observed. "It's gotta be.</p><p>"Look, that symbol!" Jesse pointed out. "It looks just like the one we saw underground."</p><p>And right as she said that, the purple block in her inventory began to laugh and chuckle again, her high-pitched laughter echoing, it steadily got louder, before it poofed into smoke. That's when Jesse knew that they found what they were looking for.</p><p>"The Structure Block!"</p><p>Nurm pointed out another set of runes on a wall to their left.</p><p>"Nurm says there's some writing here – old runes. 'The Admin's Treasures, declaring your path. Choose wisely'… that's all he's got." Jack translated again.</p><p>"I guess you can only take one," said Petra.</p><p>Jesse walked to the one on the left. The build behind it was of a bunch of dispensers around an observer block.</p><p>"Nurm says that one's the 'Tower of the Warrior.'"</p><p>"Oh, wow!" gawked Petra. "Yeah, I bet that could shred a gang of mobs in no time flat!"</p><p>Jesse then took a look at the structure block on the right. The build behind it was a bunch of glowing obsidian with an observer block.</p><p>"Says that's 'The Wall of the Builder.'"</p><p>"That's pure obsidian!" Petra gasped. "Nothing's getting through that, that's for sure."</p><p>Well, they could deal with the creepers coming out of the hole, and they were here to seal the hole anyway, so Jesse decided on the Wall of the Builder.</p><p>"The Builder Path. That sounds like what we need," said Jesse. "Well… it's supposed to be a gift, right?"</p><p>Instantly, as Jesse grasped her fingers around the Wall of the Builder block, the Tower of the Warrior block vanished, along with it's build behind it. Jesse turned around, with the gang crowding around her to take a look at the block, which was slightly pulsing.</p><p>Nurm made a comment.</p><p>"Yeah… I can't believe we got it," said Jack.</p><p>"Now, if only our way out wasn't blocked by all those freaky ender mobs."</p><p>"Perhaps… they got bored and left?" suggested Sammy.</p><p>A large explosion from the entrance door suggested otherwise.</p><p>"I'm guessing no," Petra said.</p><p>And almost immediately, mobs began to swarm into the room. They ranged from Ender-Creepers, to Ender-Skeletons, Ender-Zombies, even Ender-Spiders.</p><p>"There are so many of them!"</p><p>Nurm made a noise of fear.</p><p>"Stay behind me, Nurm!" instructed Jack as he unsheathed his sword.</p><p>The Ender-Skeletons loaded their arrows and began to fire at them, forcing them to duck out of the way. They continued their descent for a little bit further, only to find themselves blocked by a bunch of Ender-Creepers and Ender-Zombies.</p><p>"Worst. Mobs. Ever."</p><p>But those mobs weren't the worst of their problem, for a gigantic hand had just burst through the wall up ahead.</p><p>"Oh, geez! Big hand! Very big!" Jesse exclaimed.</p><p>"Think now might be a good time for that Structure Block?" suggested Petra.</p><p>"I don't know how it works!"</p><p>"Try everything, then!"</p><p>"Make it quick!" shouted Sammy.</p><p>Jesse pulled out the Structure Block and raised it over her head. "Please work! Please work! Please work!"</p><p>The Ender-Creepers were starting to flash as Jesse sent the block crashing down on the ground. At once, the same wall that they saw earlier on the platform appeared in-front of them, shielding them from the massive explosions from the Ender-Creepers, which killed not only them but the Ender-Zombies with them.</p><p>"Ha, ha-ha! Oh, man! Cool!"</p><p>The giant hand burst through another section of the wall, right in-front of them. There, Jesse got a good view at their enemy. It looked just like the giant Ender statues they saw earlier on, except this one looked like it was physically alive.</p><p>"Hello, Jesse," it greeted in a deep-voice, rumbling through Jesse's entire body.</p><p>"It talks!"</p><p>"Here they come!" exclaimed Sammy.</p><p>Sure enough, the remaining Ender-Skeletons had gotten the idea to climb around the wall Jesse had planted, which was working well for them, for now they were surrounded on that side.</p><p>"Come on! I'll show you what we did to our enemies in Pur'gan-gah!" growled Jack. "Still behind me, Nurm?"</p><p>Nurm responded with a fearful noise.</p><p>"Get ready, you guys!" Petra warned.</p><p>As the Ender-Skeletons approached them, Jesse saw just how tall they were.</p><p>"Think you're all cool 'cause of how tall you are, huh? Proud of how tall you are?" she taunted, backing away slightly.</p><p>Jesse engaged one of them, which proved to be much tougher than any normal skeleton. They were almost as tough as the mobs they met in Crown Mesa back when it was still under PAMA's control. Eventually, Jesse noticed that they had a purple symbol on the back of their heads, the same symbol as on the block she used to get into the place, which was now long gone.</p><p>Jesse knocked the Ender-Skeleton down into it's knees, wrestled herself up onto it and plunged her sword into the symbol, which killed it instantly.</p><p>"Ha! In your face! Whoo! Metaphorically."</p><p>The giant statue finally burst the wall open, flooding the room with water, Jesse saw the outside islands with the chorus plant forests throughout the burst open wall. If they can side-step this giant Colossus, that'll be their way out.</p><p>"Why, hello!" greeted the giant Ender-Colossus as it leaned down towards Jesse.</p><p>"Uh hi?"</p><p>"That's the second time you've stolen from me, Jesse. And it will also be your last. Die now!" it said, raising a giant hand. Jesse quickly jumped out of the way, as it brought the hand crashing down, demolishing part of the platform.</p><p>"Whoa! Too close!"</p><p>"Stand still!" it growled, raising it's other hand and bringing it down,</p><p>"GAAAAAH!" Jesse screamed, jumping out of the way.</p><p>"Hmm, well dodged!" the Colossus praised.</p><p>"MY SWORD!" Petra's voice called out. Jesse looked to her left and saw Petra hanging off the edge, desperately reaching out to her sword. "I can… ugh! I can almost reach it! IT'S SO CLOSE!"</p><p>Jack on the other hand was fighting a losing battle with the rest of the Ender-Skeletons, Sammy, Soren and Nurm behind him.</p><p>"Don't worry! I've got it! Mostly!"</p><p>As much as Jesse hated to do it, she decided to help Jack. A sword can be replaced, a human not so much. She rolled in and blocked an incoming attack with her sword.</p><p>"Gotcha, Jack!"</p><p>Jack got to his feet.</p><p>"Now, come on. Let's get out of here!"</p><p>Jesse, pushing the Ender-Skeleton back, joined Jack and the others in the water.</p><p>"Ugh! Wow! Thank you, really," said Jack.</p><p>"Look at that – you said 'Thank you,'" Jesse pointed out, Soren grinning in amusement.</p><p>"Hmm! You'll never prove it," huffed Jack.</p><p>"NO!" screamed Petra as the Colossus brought it's arms down, forcing her to abandon her sword. "Miss Butter! All that time enchanting – down the drain!"</p><p>But Jesse had more important things to worry about, such as a giant Colossus that was trying to kill them. The colossus raised it's hand again.</p><p>"Nowhere to run," it said, bringing it's hand down. Swimming down, Jesse dodged it, and quickly swam back up and grabbed onto it. "You are resilient. Though sadly, still mortal!"</p><p>Jesse felt the top of the ledge touch her hair as she quickly scrambled to avoid being crushed. "Touched my hair that time!"</p><p>She rolled out of the way as the Colossus responded by driving the hand into the ceiling. "Ha! Didn't work that time either!"</p><p>The Colossus bellowed out a deep rumbling laugh. Perhaps mocking it wasn't such a good idea. As it brought it's hand to the ceiling again, Jesse quickly let go, falling back into the water again. Where was the water coming from anyway? There was no water in the end as far as Jesse knew.</p><p>"I placed every block you've ever stood on, thief, and I promise, I will place the blocks that will cover your grave!" it said, identifying itself as none other than the Admin. Jesse blinked slowly, locking eyes with her stony form.</p><p>"The hole!" Jack pointed out. Immediately, they began swimming towards the giant hole that the Colossus had carved when it entered.</p><p>"Go! Go! I'm right behind you guys!"</p><p>"Are you?" mocked the Admin. "Really? What a dangerous world, Jesse. You are but a mere speck of dust, and there is so much distance to cover until you get to the exit portal. Also, there's me."</p><p>Jesse dodged another attack from the Admin as she managed to get to the other side of the room and out of Hyl, where the water was rapidly spilling off the island, into the void below.</p><p>"Ha! How's that feel, ya dumb pile o' rocks?!" taunted Jesse as the group back-traced their path towards the Bedrock gateway.</p><p>Without looking back, they raced toward the gateway, and threw their Ender pearls inside it, which warped them all back to the main island. Without hesitation, they all jumped into the exit portal.</p><p>Immediately when they returned to the Overworld, they destroyed the Portal that they had come out of. Anything to stop that giant thing from following them. After that, they paused for a moment to catch their breaths before trekking back to Beacontown.</p><hr/><p>At last, they finally made it back to Beacontown, where nearby they found the pit, which was still spitting out Ender mobs. Jesse looked down and saw the socket where the Structure Block was supposed to go.</p><p>"There! That's where the Structure Block goes!" Jesse exclaimed, jumping down.</p><p>"Slam it down, Jesse! We'll keep the mobs off your back!" Petra said.</p><p>As the others engaged the mobs, Jesse ducked and weaved around them as she made her way to the socket. Upon reaching it, she wasted no time in slamming the block down into it, barriers appearing in the Heckmouth, plugging it up. She watched the group dispatch the last of the mobs.</p><p>"Is everyone okay?" asked Jack.</p><p>"Looks all clear to me," said Sammy.</p><p>Jesse jumped into the air and did a victory dance in celebration.</p><p>"Hehehe, impressive moves! Well, whaddya know, Jesse. You really did it!" Petra praised.</p><p>"Huh! Yeah, I guess I did!"</p><p>"Think that's really the end of it?" asked Jack.</p><p>"Oh! Certainly seems it to me," responded Sammy.</p><p>Jesse picked the Structure Block back up.</p><p>"Then come on! Let's go home, you guys."</p><p>And so they crawled their way out of the mine, and towards the main gates of Beacontown, which opened up as they approached, to reveal the citizens of Beacontown going by their daily business, preparing for Founding Day, which was today.</p><p>"Oh! Wow, this is much more people than what I've seen for a long time!" Sammy commented.</p><p>"You and me both, friend," agreed Soren.</p><p>"Hey everyone!" greeted Jesse. "Happy Founding Day!"</p><p>"Ah-ha! Welcome back!" welcomed Stampy, who had reached the group first with Stacy and Wink.</p><p>"We were worried you'd miss it!" Stacy said.</p><p>And right behind them, appeared Radar, who was overjoyed to see Jesse.</p><p>"YOU'RE BACK!" he exclaimed. "Thank goodness. This has… whooo! This has been a lot of work. People all need things approved or help with bulding or wrangling animals."</p><p>"It might've been a lot of work, but – it was totally worth it. The place looks great!"</p><p>"Yeah?!"</p><p>"Yeah. You did a great job, Radar!"</p><p>"Wow, thanks! So, did you find what you were searching for?"</p><p>Jesse could only grin. Man did she have something to show them.</p><p>At the center of Beacontown, Jesse held the Structure Block nice and high for everyone to see.</p><p>"Jesse! Jesse! Jesse!" the crowd was chanting.</p><p>"It's just like I'm always telling people – Teamwork makes the dream work!" She said. "Thanks to all my friends, we brought this amazing new treasure back. There's nothing we can't do together! Happy Founding Day everyone! You're welcome."</p><p>And as a demonstration, she slammed the block down, seeing the people Oooh and Aaah as the Wall of the Builder appeared in-front of her. She saw Petra with Jack, Nurm and Sammy, and rejoined them.</p><p>"Not bad, right? I think they really liked it!" said Jesse.</p><p>"Yeah, they did. Congratulations!" Jack responded, giving Jesse a tap on the armor as he congratulated her. "I haven't seen a celebration like this since that crazy summer I spent with the Party People of Te'ag Tem."</p><p>"Well, it seems you really do know how to get the Crowd's attention," appraised Soren. "I stand by what I said before, you deserve the title of the Order of the Stone more than I did."</p><p>Petra on the other hand, didn't seem quite so joyful.</p><p>"What's wrong, Petra?" asked Jesse.</p><p>"Uh, sorry. Still just bummed about losing Miss Butter back there." she said.</p><p>"Oh yeah, that was an excellent sword," Jack responded. "Could've used a grander name though. No offense."</p><p>"Petra, I'm really sorry about your sword," Jesse apologized. "I know how important it was to you."</p><p>Petra nodded, sighing in disappointment. Jesse understood how she was feeling. All that effort to get it from Stella only to lose it a few hours later. This time, permanently.</p><p>"Jack, let's – uh – Oh! I'm sorry, didn't mean to interrupt you guys here. I was just looking for Jack," Sammy entered the conversation.</p><p>"No, no, you're fine, friend. Sammy and I are heading to the shop to start planning our next expedition," explained Jack. "You comin', Petra?"</p><p>"Yeah! Wait up," exclaimed Petra, joining them. Leaving just Jesse and Soren standing alone. They turned around and stared at the Beacons along with celebratory fireworks.</p><p>"Those are some pretty nice Beacons you got set up there, Jesse," said Soren.</p><p>"Thanks," she responded. "And so you know, the middle one is actually powered by the Nether-Star that the Wither-Storm dropped when it was destroyed."</p><p>Soren nodded in approval.</p><p>As Jesse was about to turn away and change out of her armor, a tiny tremor rumbled throughout Beacontown.</p><p>"Did you feel that?" asked Soren.</p><p>Another tremor, this time much more forceful rumbled, knocking a few citizens off their feet.</p><p>"Whoa! You dudes heard that too, right?" asked Nell.</p><p>"Yes, terrifying!" squealed Stampy.</p><p>"Yeah, what was it?"</p><p>And instantly, the town was in a panic.</p><p>"That better not be what I think it is," whispered Soren. "Oh no! It is!"</p><p>Soren pointed towards the entrance of Beacontown, in the direction of Champion City.</p><p>Sure enough, the Ender-Colossus known as the Admin was in the distance, slowly stepping it's way toward Beacontown.</p><p>"Oh, no."</p><p>"Jesse!" Jesse heard the Admin call out her name. It slowly came to a stop just outside the gates of Beacontown. "YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD JUST STEAL AND RUN AWAY FROM THE ADMIN?"</p><p>It leaned down towards Jesse and Soren, who were both slowly backing away in fear. This was bad, really,<em> really </em>bad.</p><p>"YOU'VE REALLY GOT MY ATTENTION NOW!"</p><hr/><p>Meanwhile, off in a cabin not far from Beacontown, sat Lukas, who was outside, working on his next book. Next to him, sat Dewey, his pet Ocelot. He was startled by a sudden tremor.</p><p>Rushing to the edge of the balcony, he saw what caused the tremor. A giant Colossus, with glowing magenta eyes was slowly maneuvering it's way past, in the direction of Beacontown.</p><p>"Beacontown," he whispered, realizing the danger they were in. He rushed inside, and slipped on his armor and goggles. He couldn't find his gloves, but that didn't matter. He had to go, now!</p><p>"Looks like it's time – to write the next chapter," he said dramatically as he got on his horse and rode away towards Beacontown, hoping to get there before the Colossus did.</p><hr/><p>End of Act I</p><hr/><p>Author's Notes: Looks like things are really starting to kick off here. The next chapter may take a little bit longer to arrive, and this will be the norm between each Act in RN.</p><hr/><p>Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up something else.</p><p>Until next time.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Act II - Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Act II – Chapter 8</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>
    <em>Old friends come in and move out of life, while new friends show up to fill the spaces left behind. We might not like it but eventually everyone learns that nothing can escape change forever. No matter how fraught with danger it may seem, the lure of adventure cannot be denied. Sometimes the danger itself is the pull.</em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>Some heroes just want to be the one to discover the next ancient secret, to wield strange new powers. This new threat was more personal than any that had come before, and the fight for their lives shook the foundation of everything they thought possible.</em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>But in the End, the town was saved. The heroes had won the day. And everyone could believe, for just one moment, that maybe things really hadn’t changed at all.</em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>And then… that moment passed...</em>
  </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>An immense crowd gathered behind Jesse, Soren and Radar, whispering and murmuring as the Ender-Colossus leaned in over the perimeter wall of Beacontown.</span>
</p><p>“<span><b>GREETINGS, PATHETIC, TINY CITIZENS. I… AM THE ADMIN!</b></span><span>” it greeted, in a loud booming voice, causing most of them to jump in fright. “</span><span><b>AW, I’M SORRY! DID I BURST YOUR EARDRUMS?</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>“<span>What does that mean? What does it want?” A citizen frantically whispered.</span></p><p>“<span>A-Admin?”</span></p><p>“<span>Is it… what is that thing?”</span></p><p>“<span>I am beyond scared right right now!” Radar trembled.</span></p><p>“<span>It seems Petra’s sword wasn’t enough for it,” added Soren.</span></p><p>“<span><b>I WISH TO SPEAK WITH YOUR LEADER; JESSE. SHE AND I HAVE A FEW </b></span><span><em><b>DIFFERENCES</b></em></span><span><b> WE NEED TO SETTLE!</b></span><span>” the Colossus continued.</span></p><p>“<span>What’s going on?”</span></p><p>“<span>W-where’d it come from?”</span></p><p>“<span>Well quit wishing, Admin,” Jesse spoke up, stepping forward and glaring at the giant Colossus. “Because I’m right here.”</span></p><p>“<span><b>I KNOW YOU ARE, THAT’S WHY I WAS LOOKING DIRECTLY AT YOU!</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>
  <span>It stood up. “</span>
  <span>
    <b>COME, SPEAK WITH ME FACE TO FACE.</b>
  </span>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>“<span>Oh boy,” whispered Soren.</span></p><p>“’<span>Admin’? Have you ever heard of such a thing?” asked a citizen.</span></p><p>“<span>Jesse, what’s going on here?” Radar uncertainly probed.</span></p><p>“’<span>Differences</span><span>’? That’s all rather suspicious, isn’t it?” said Stampy.</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse turned to face the crowd. “Uh, everyone! Everyone! Hi. There’s nothing to worry about. The… giant Ender-Colossus and I are going to work this out and everything can get back to normal. I swear.”</span>
</p><p>“<span>Okay, so… an ‘Admin.’ A huge colossus at our door.”</span></p><p>“<span>I’m all right with not freaking out. Yet.”</span></p><p>“<span>You’re going to fix this, right Jesse?”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse glanced back at the Colossus, which was standing rather smug next to a rooftop.</span>
</p><p>“<span>You won’t let it… destroy Beacontown, will you?” Radar questioned.</span></p><p>“<span>Oh, I’m sure Jesse must have thought of something,” said Stampy.</span></p><p>“<span>I hope you’re right...” Stacy responded, her voice filled with uncertainty.</span></p><p>“<span>Don’t worry everyone,” Jesse spoke up again. “I’m going to try talking to it.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Radar nodded. “Okay, diplomacy. Nice, that sounds good.”</span>
</p><p>“<span><b>AHEM!</b></span><span>” the Colossus coughed, getting everyone’s attention again. “</span><span><b>HURRY UP AND GET UP HERE, THIEF! I’VE GOT A LOT OF THINGS I WANT TO SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT! </b></span><span><b>I HAVEN’T GOT ALL DAY</b></span><span><b>!</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>“<span>Guess you should be getting up there, Jesse. Don’t want to make the Admin even angrier!” suggested Soren, echoing Jesse’s thoughts.</span></p><p>
  <span>Nell rushed in with leftover clay from the statue Jesse did on her front-lawn yesterday. “Clay comin’ your way!”</span>
</p><p>“<span>Thanks, Nell. Perfect!” Jesse took the clay and began to climb up to the top of one of the towers, the Colossus watching and nodding slightly at Jesse’s obedience.</span></p><p>
  <span>At last, Jesse reached the top of the tower, granting her what would have been a nice view of Champion City in the distance, had it not been for a giant Colossus standing in the way.</span>
</p><p>“<span><b>AH, THERE YOU ARE, AT LAST!</b></span><span>” said the Colossus as it kneeled down towards Jesse’s level. “</span><span><b>First of all, let’s start off at the beginning. I am a big fan of yours Jesse, ever since you took down the Wither-Storm.</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse’s eyes widened. </span>
  <span>
    <em>That…</em>
  </span>
  <span> was unexpected.</span>
</p><p>“<span><b>Not only that, but I am also a big fan of your work regarding PAMA, Crown Mesa and the Old Builders! Seriously, you’ve really got some talent there.</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>“<span>I don’t know whether you’re trying to get my guard down or what, but I won’t be fooled by your tricks, Admin,” said Jesse.</span></p><p>“<span><b>Tricks? Oh no no no, no tricks here! I’m serious. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, there are still issues we need to work out, namely your thieving problem. That’s two of my stuff that are wrongfully in your hands now. </b></span><span><b>However,</b></span><span><b> I was thinking we can come to somewhat of an agreement.</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>
  <span>The Colossus then stood back up, and headed right to the gate.</span>
</p><p>“<span><b>BUT </b></span><span><b>FIRST THINGS FIRST</b></span><span><b>! I’LL LET IT ALL SLIDE, IF YOU FIGHT...</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>“<span>No!” screamed Jesse to no avail as the Colossus kicked a foot right through the gate, smashing it into pieces. The crowd screamed and panicked, running away from the rain of debris around them.</span></p><p>“<span>Look out!”</span></p><p>“<span><b>...ME!</b></span><span>” finished the Colossus. “</span><span><b>FIGHT ME, JESSE! UNLESS YOU’D LIKE TO SEE </b></span><span><b>ME DO THAT TO YOUR </b></span><span><b>ENTIRE TOWN! SO MUCH TO DESTROY! SO MUCH CHAOS TO CAUSE! MWAHAHAHA!</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>
  <span>The Colossus burst into loud booming laughter, sounding very similar to the high-pitched laughter that she had previously heard periodically. Jesse responded by unsheathing her sword.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Okay, I get it now – You are totally cuckoo!”</span></p><p>“<span><b>W</b></span><span><b>ait a moment,</b></span><span><b>w</b></span><span><b>here is it?</b></span><span>” mumbled the Colossus as it dig into it’s inventory, before pulling out a giant hand-held clock. “</span><span><b>THERE</b></span><span><b>! FIGHTING IN DAYLIGHT? WHO DOES THAT ANYMORE!? LET’S </b></span><span><b>SPICE THINGS UP A BIT</b></span><span><b>, SHALL WE?!</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>
  <span>The Colossus rotated the dial within the clock, and something happened that completely shook Jesse to the bone. The sun rapidly disappeared behind the horizon, to be replaced with a glowing white moon. The Admin had just switched the world into night-time. How is that even possible?</span>
</p><p>“<span>Ooh, </span><span>s</span><span>he’s powerful,” whispered Jesse.</span></p><p>“<span><b>TSK! TSK! TSK! SO MUCH FOR THEM!</b></span><span>” The Colossus taunted as mobs rapidly spawned and began to move towards the broken gates of Beacontown. “</span><span><b>JUST YOU AND ME NOW, JESSE! MWAHAHAHA!</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>
  <span>And the Colossus raised it’s fist, ready to </span>
  <span>turn</span>
  <span> Jesse into a human pancake. Great, this again. Jesse immediately started running and dived off the rooftop onto another roof as the Colossus brought it’s giant fist down, smashing it up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wasting no time, Jesse quickly dived into cover. By then, Soren had quickly made his way up to where Jesse was.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Not going to lie to you Jesse, but this is bad. Really bad!” he said as Jesse looked down and saw Petra and Sammy fighting mobs. “These townspeople aren’t going to stand a chance against the Admin. You saw how that thing </span><span>tore</span><span> through the gate. Swords aren’t going to stop her from stomping on you and sending you to an early grave.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse immediately got the idea to use the Structure Block, which she pulled out. “But a whole bunch of obsidian walls will! Structure Block time. If you can cause a distraction, I can plant some of these guys. They’ll help hold the city.”</span>
</p><p>“<span>Go for it, Jesse! I’ll buy you time!” said Soren, rushing out. Jesse quickly rushed out in the opposite direction. “HEY! YOU! OVER HERE! I KNOW WHAT YOU DID, AND I KNOW WHO YOU ARE, ADMIN!”</span></p><p>“<span><b>REALLY?</b></span><span>” said the Colossus in response.</span></p><p>“<span>OH YEAH!” Soren unsheathed a golden sword. “NOW, YOU’RE GOING TO SEE WHAT I’M REALLY CAPABLE OF!”</span></p><p>“<span><b>HAHAHAHAHAHA</b></span><span><b>! </b></span><span><b>GOOD LUCK!</b></span><span>” taunted the Colossus.</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse meanwhile had approached a bunch of citizens who had backed into an alcove and immediately slammed the Structure Block down, blocking the alcove with an obsidian wall.</span>
</p><p>“<span>AHHH--” screamed a citizen, before realizing that it was just Jesse protecting them with the Structure Block. “Ah? Ah, Jesse! Oh, oh, thank you!”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse run towards a group cowered into a hole, and plugged it up with the Structure Block. Another obsidian wall appeared, covering the hole.</span>
</p><p>“<span>You. Are. The. Best!”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse found a third group of citizens hiding behind Stampy and Stacy’s stall. Again, she blocked it up with another obsidian wall.</span>
</p><p>“<span>That’s the way, Jesse! Thanks. Mean it.”</span></p><p>“<span><b>WELL, WHAT’S GOING ON OVER HERE? USING MY OWN STUFF AGAINST ME? CLEVER, </b></span><span><b>BUT NOT CLEVER ENOUGH!</b></span><span><b> LOOK OUT BELOW!</b></span><span>” said the Colossus, who had picked up on what Jesse was doing. Jesse dived out of the way, only to find that she could not find said Structure Block.</span></p><p>“<span>The—the-- where’s the Structure Block?!”</span></p><p>“<span><b>AHA! BACK TO IT’S RIGHTFUL OWNER! THIS TINY THING WON’T SAVE YOU FROM ME, JESSE!</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>
  <span>And then the Colossus ate it. It raised a foot again. Jesse, for the umpteenth time dived out of the way. She ran into an alley, and stopped next to some citizens who were hiding.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Okay… this is a little intense, but I guess a giant colossus did follow me home,” she said casually.</span></p><p>“<span><b>HIDING, ARE WE?</b></span><span>” asked the Colossus as it smashed another building up. “</span><span><b>FOR A WORLD-SAVING HERO, YOU REALLY AREN’T ONE FOR FACE-OFFS! PITY!</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>
  <span>As Jesse followed the citizens away from the building that the Colossus was beating up, it continued to taunt her.</span>
</p><p>“<span><b>IF YOU’RE GOING TO BE A COWARD, JESSE! JUST GIVE YOURSELF UP! IT’LL MAKE THINGS A WHOLE LOT EASIER!</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse reached a ladder and began to climb.</span>
</p><p>“<span><b>YOU’LL HAVE TO COME OUT SOMETIME JESSE! I’LL WAIT HERE FOR AS LONG AS IT TAKES!</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse entered the building and looked out towards the street in the Colossus’ direction. There, she saw a glowing magenta symbol on the back of it’s head.</span>
</p><p>“<span>That design on the back of </span><span>her</span><span> head… I’ve seen it before,” whispered Jesse, coming to a realization. “Both the block, and the Ender-Skeletons back at the End City had the same symbol!”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse entered an alcove, which turned out to be a costly mistake, as she found out when she yelped upon seeing the Colossus glaring right at her.</span>
</p><p>“<span><b>WELL, WELL, WELL! LOOK WHO FINALLY CAME OUT!</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>“<span>All right, Admin. You want a fight? You got one. Here I am!” she said, unsheathing her sword.</span></p><p>
  <span>The Colossus laughed as it reached in and grabbed Jesse, clutching her in it’s fist. She swung her sword around, but it was useless. The grip was far too tight for her to pry herself out of.</span>
</p><p>“<span><b>AND THERE IS WHAT YOU REALLY ARE! A</b></span><span><b>N </b></span><span><b>INSIGNIFICANT LITTLE DWARF WHO MEDDLED IN THINGS SHE SHOULD’VE HAVE! GOODBYE!</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>
  <span>As the Colossus went to eat Jesse, another voice interrupted.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Hey, rock-face! Eat this!”</span></p><p>
  <span>An arrow came flying out of nowhere and landed straight in it’s eye.</span>
</p><p>“<span><b>ARGH!</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>
  <span>As the Colossus focused itself on removing the object from it’s eye, it released it’s grip on Jesse. As Jesse held on for dear life, she looked down and saw a figure riding on a horse towards her. Blond hair, goggles and a bow. It was Lukas, who had arrived in full armor, minus the gloves. As he passed underneath her, she leapt off, landing right on the back of the horse.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Ha! Lukas!!” she greeted.</span></p><p>“<span>Good to see you, too!” he said.</span></p><p>“<span><b>JEESSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!</b></span><span>” raged the Colossus as they rode away from it.</span></p><p>“<span>What is that?” questioned Lukas.</span></p><p>“<span>Quick version? The Admin! </span><span>Sh</span><span>e, like, built the world or something!” explained Jesse.</span></p><p>“<span>O...kay… are you all right? I mean, he really had you up there.”</span></p><p>“<span>What took you so long?”</span></p><p>“<span>Hey, riding to the rescue takes time, all right?” said Lukas.</span></p><p>
  <span>The Colossus made a loud grunting sound of anger.</span>
</p><p>“<span>I sure hope you’ve got an idea here,” continued Lukas.</span></p><p>“<span>I saw a spot on the back of h</span><span>er</span><span> head that I’m hoping might be the key to defeating h</span><span>er</span><span>,” Jesse pointed out.</span></p><p>“<span><b>I’LL FIND YOU, JESSE! YOU CANNOT OUTRUN ME FOREVER!</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>
  <span>Lukas dismounted the horse, handing the reins to Jesse. “Sounds like I better keep him distracted then.”</span>
</p><p>“<span>Thanks, Lukas. Be careful.”</span></p><p>
  <span>As Lukas ran off, Jesse took the reins and sped off with the horse.</span>
</p><p>“<span><b>I GROW TIRED OF THIS, JESSE! STOP STALLING, AND HURRY UP!</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>“<span>Hey, blockhead!” shouted Lukas, getting the Colossus’ attention. “You want Jesse, you need to go through me first! And I don’t think you stand a chance!”</span></p><p>
  <span>Lukas released an arrow, sending it straight into the Colossus’ chest.</span>
</p><p>“<span><b>YOU’RE PROTECTING JESSE? OH COME ON! THIS IS GETTING ANNOYING REAL FAST! </b></span><span><b>IT</b></span><span><b> ENDS NOW!</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>“<span>All right girl, let’s see what you got. Hi-yah!”</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse rode towards the Colossus as it began it’s search for Lukas.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Not in there!” he yelled.</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse leapt off the horse and onto the Colossus’ foot, scrambling her way up.</span>
</p><p>“<span><b>I KNEW YOU’D COME EVENTUALLY!</b></span><span>” it said.</span></p><p>“<span>You don’t know anything about me!” Jesse barked as she dodged another attack and began to climb the Colossus’ back. </span></p><p>“<span><b>AUGH! GET OFF ME!</b></span><span>” it groaned, before stopping, seeing Reuben’s memorial. Jesse gasped, knowing exactly what it was about to do. “</span><span><b>WELL, </b></span><span><b>THAT’S A NICE MEMORIAL YOU HAVE THERE, JESSE! SURE WOULD BE A SHAME IF SOMEONE...</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>“<span>NO!” screamed Jesse.</span></p><p>
  <span>The Colossus stomped it’s foot on Reuben’s memorial, destroying it.</span>
</p><p>“<span><b>...</b></span><span><b>STEPPED ON IT</b></span><span><b>!</b></span><span>”</span></p><p>“<span>You’re gonna wish you hadn’t done that, Admin,” Jesse threatened, her voice cold. Jumping onto it’s arm, she scrambled up onto it.</span></p><p>“<span><b>DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME, JESSE!?</b></span><span>” it asked.</span></p><p>“<span>I don’t </span><span><em>think</em></span><span>, I </span><span><em>know</em></span><span>!” spat Jesse as she ran up to it’s head. Climbing up, she quickly scrambled across to the back of it.</span></p><p>“<span><b>CONFIDENCE; IN MODERATION, IT’S GOOD! TOO MUCH OF IT HOWEVER, AND IT TURNS TO ARROGANCE!</b></span><span>” said the Admin. Jesse had to stifle a laugh. If you had to describe the Admin, arrogant would be putting it lightly. Jesse jumped to the back of the Colossus’ head, unsheathed her sword and plunged it into the symbol, all the way up to the hilt.</span></p><p>
  <span>The Colossus’ body seized up, and began to fall to it’s knees. At the same time, it was grunting and groaning, and the magenta glow of the symbol was flickering.</span>
</p><p>“<span><b>AUGH… WELL… FOUGHT… </b></span><span><b>J</b></span><span><b>… </b></span><span><b>JESSssssEEeeeee...</b></span><span><b>”</b></span><span> the Admin whispered it’s dying breaths, as the glow faded completely. </span><span>I</span><span>t poofed into giant smoke, dropping Jesse, the giant Clock that it had in it’s inventory as well as a whole rain of End Stone.</span></p><p>
  <span>It was over, Jesse had defeated the Admin. Immediately, Lukas raced over to her.</span>
</p><p>“<span>That was really something,” he commented. Jesse nodded.</span></p><p>“<span>Stay behind me Stampy!” yelled Stacy.</span></p><p>“<span>Ah! Don’t let the googlies take me!” cried Stampy in fear.</span></p><p>“<span>Oh man. Those are gonna keep coming in until we get the sun back up,” said Jesse as she raced back toward the clock, joined by Lukas and Radar.</span></p><p>“<span>Any idea how to use it?” asked Radar.</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse, getting a hunch, reached in and turned it the same way that the Colossus did. </span>
  <span>Th</span>
  <span>e Sun and Moon quickly followed </span>
  <span>in a complete reverse of what happened when the Admin used it</span>
  <span>, and it was now daytime once again,.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesse heard Stampy breathe a sigh of relief as the zombies burnt to death in the daylight. The citizens quickly helped themselves to the gigantic pile of End Stone that had rained from the Ender-Colossus, and were using it to rebuild Beacontown.</span>
</p><p><span>In Jesse’s opinion, Beacontown now looked even more mismatched than usual with the addition of End Stone to replace what had been destroyed in the Admin’s attack. But it also added to Beacontown’s charm. While places like Champion City were really strict about how things looked, Jesse’s town was far more relaxed in those rules. Basically, the only rule was that your building should not harm anyone in Beacontown, nor damage </span><span>other</span> <span>property</span><span>.</span></p><p>“<span>I can’t believe it still works!” gasped Radar.</span></p><p>“<span>Man, this thing could be super dangerous,” Lukas said. “How sure are you that this Admin </span><span>thing</span><span> is gone?”</span></p><p>“<span>I don’t know,” said Jesse. “When I first found that block on top of the heckmouth, I saw visions of this glowing purple human with a really high-pitched laugh. If we destroyed that huge thing and she or he is still alive? That’s kinda scary.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Radar squealed in horror.</span>
</p><p>“<span>I don’t know how much more Beacontown can take,” said Lukas. </span></p><p>“<span>Someone should keep an eye on this thing...” suggested Jesse.</span></p><p>“<span>Yeah, I can take first watch,” volunteered Lukas.</span></p><p>“<span>Actually! Ahem! Actually, I’ll volunteer, I want to help,” Radar stepped up.</span></p><p>“<span>Jesse, I’d say we both do it, but one of us should really get started on the repairs. It’s a nice gesture, but maybe you should just let me handle it.”</span></p><p>“<span>Look, I promise… that the minute I see anything out of the ordinary, I’m coming to get you as fast as my hustlesticks will carry me,” said Radar. “My, uh, my legs. Come on, Jesse, I can do this! Jesse’s left me in charge before.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Lukas shook his head. “This is a whole new level though...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesse decided to have Radar watch the clock. “All right Radar. I officially bequeath on you the title of ‘Clockmaster.’” she bequeathed.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Thank you Jesse,” said Radar, bouncing up and down. “I solemnly promise to uphold the duties of Clockmaster and to only use my powers for good.”</span></p><p>“<span>Wha-? Yeah, good. That’s good.”</span></p><p>
  <span>Radar stood in position and proceeded to watch the clock like a hawk.</span>
</p><p>“<span>So, what are you going to do now?” asked Lukas.</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse turned towards the smashed up memorial. The Admin just had to go and destroy that thing. Good thing it got what it deserved.</span>
</p><p>“<span>I figured I’d start with Reuben’s memorial. It got pretty trashed,” said Jesse.</span></p><p>“<span>Aw man. Well, that’s terrible. I’m so sorry. That Admin, just-- no respect.”</span></p><p>
  <span>No respect indeed.</span>
</p><p>“<span>It’ll be all right,” reassured Jesse. “Damage isn’t </span><span><em>too</em></span><span> terrible.”</span></p><p>“<span>That’s a really good outlook,” nodded Lukas. “And, um, </span><span>I… </span><span>I gotta tell ya Jesse, this whole ‘Admin’ thing? It’s… well it’s very you, I guess is what I’m saying.</span></p><p>“<span>I know you say you’re trying to settle down and run Beacontown, but… it just seems like you can’t quit that life, you know? I mean, you don’t exactly see Axel and Olivia getting mixed up in stuff like this.”</span></p><p>“<span>Maybe you’re right,” sighed Jesse.</span></p><p>“<span>Well, today goes to show that the people will love you no matter what,” said Lukas. “I, uh… I didn’t say any of that stuff to be mean. We’ve had a ton of adventures and-- I just want you to be happy. I mean, that’s what that little pig wanted for all of us. Now go rebuild his monument. I promised Stampy and Stacy I’d help them get their houses fixed up.”</span></p><p>“<span>Sounds good, I’ll see ya later Lukas.”</span></p><p>
  <span>As Lukas walked off, Jesse turned to the destroyed monument and picked up a sign with Reuben’s name on it.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Okay, let’s see what we can do for ya, buddy,” she said.</span></p><p>
  <span>She spent the next ten minutes building it back up so that it resembles a respectable monument. She couldn’t get it to look exactly like it did before, but she did get it pretty close.</span>
</p><p>“<span>There, now that is a monument fit for Reuben,” remarked Jesse.</span></p><p>“<span>Indeed,” Soren’s voice answered, startling her. “Hehe, sorry about that Jesse. I know I’ve never spent much time around Reuben before he died, but I </span><span>have a feeling</span><span> he was a great pig.”</span></p><p>“<span>Yeah, he was,” sighed Jesse.</span></p><p>“<span>Anyway, I came by because I overheard Jack and Sammy talking with Petra. Apparently they’re preparing to make off on another adventure,” reported Soren.</span></p><p>
  <span>What? While she was here helping out with repairs, they were just going to run off.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Really? Well, I’ve got a few choice words to say to them, especially Petra!” snarled Jesse, to be immediately stopped by Soren grabbing her arm.</span></p><p>“<span>Wait a second, Jesse!” Soren tried to plead.</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse promptly tugged her arm free and continued on her path. She wasn’t going to stand down. And right after she apologized about Champion City too!</span>
</p><p>“<span>Jesse! Come back!” groaned Soren as he raced after her. As Jesse reached Jack and Sammy, who were talking with Petra nowhere in sight, she overheard them talking.</span></p><p>“<span>Aw c’mon. You remember Twisting Death Cavern. Vos wouldn’t even look at a bat for months afterward,” said Jack.</span></p><p>“<span>Oh, oh yeah, that’s right,” answered Sammy. “They just all start to blur together after so long in that cage.”</span></p><p>“<span>Guys, Petra around?” asked Jesse.</span></p><p>
  <span>Jack and Sammy both froze, Jack stuttering, looking for something to say. Yeah, something is definitely going on here.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Oh, uh, yeah, um… Helping Nurm get some stuff I think. She should be back in a second,” answered Jack. Jesse had a feeling he wasn’t being entirely truthful.</span></p><p>“<span>Amazing work fighting that ‘Admin’ thing by the way,” appraised Sammy. “Absolutely </span><span>epic</span><span>.”</span></p><p>“<span>Yeah, I would’ve thought you’d been doing it your whole life...” agreed Jack. “It was… artful.”</span></p><p>“<span>Well, it’s not like it was my first battle against an impossible foe,” Jesse said casually.</span></p><p>“<span>Wither-Storm,” Jack answered at Sammy’s confused look. “I’ll get you the book – it’s actually a pretty good read. Think I’ve got a copy back at the shop.”</span></p><p>“<span>I’m just a little saddened and disappointed that the legendary Jack, ‘The Iron Sword of Mooji Lake’ has been reduced to some little tour guide,” Sammy said, without a hint of hesitation in her voice. “Which is why I believe that this adventure back to Twisting Death Cavern should be enough to get you back into your--”</span></p><p>“<span>Hey, shut up!” snapped Jack, interrupting Sammy. Sammy, realizing what she was saying, quickly corrected herself. But it was too late. Sammy just confirmed Jesse’s suspicions.</span></p><p>“<span>--What you should continue to keep just t-talking about,” stammered Sammy. “Yeah, that, for someday far off, ya know.”</span></p><p>“<span>Ah yeah, yeah, agreed,” agreed Jack.</span></p><p>
  <span>Time to bust their little game plan.</span>
</p><p>“<span>Wow, I thought Jack was a bad liar, but you’re pretty terrible at it too, Sammy,” said Jesse.</span></p><p>“<span>Ugh! Fine!” snapped Sammy. “Yes, we have a new adventure planned! Happy?!”</span></p><p>“<span>--Hang on, hang on! I missed that last part. If we take that road, it goes through a swamp and a mesa biome?” asked Petra, approaching the group with Nurm by her side. He was nodding happily.</span></p><p>“<span>Okay, okay then it’s settled. The earlier we leave, the better...” Petra trailed off, upon seeing Jesse glaring at her.</span></p><p>“<span>So, you’re leaving with these guys? Hmm?” probed Jesse. Her voice ic</span><span>e</span><span> cold.</span></p><p>“<span>Er… yeah,” admitted Petra.</span></p><p>
  <span>Jesse continued to glare.</span>
</p><p>“<span>And that’s, uh… yeah, that’s why we were… um, being weird before and, y’know, talking about, y’know, possible stuff...” Jack stammered.</span></p><p>“<span>Were you going to tell me, or were you going to do what Soren said you were planning to and just run off?” questioned Jesse. Her voice as cold as ice.</span></p><p>“<span>Of course I was gonna tell you, I was just… working up to it. Slowly,” Petra defended herself.</span></p><p>“<span>Don’t lie to us, Petra. I know exactly what you said,” Soren stepped in. “And just now, you said that the earlier you leave, the better off you guys would be. Doesn’t sound very</span> <span><em>friendly</em></span><span> and helpful if you ask me.”</span></p><p>“<span>Jesse, Soren, I promise I can explain, I just--”</span></p><p>
  <span>But before Petra could finish explaining herself, a loud static noise </span>
  <span>immediately threatened to burst Jesse’s eardrums</span>
  <span>.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Author’s Notes: Oh boy, looks like we’ve got a bit of drama between Jesse and Petra here. Hehehehe.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>More to follow.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Act II - Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Act II – Chapter 9</p><hr/><p>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</p><hr/><p>“<em>Were you going to tell me, or were you going to do what Soren said you were planning to and just run off?” questioned Jesse. Her voice as cold as ice.</em></p><p>“<em>Of course I was gonna tell you, I was just… working up to it. Slowly,” Petra defended herself.</em></p><p>“<em>Don’t lie to us, Petra. I know exactly what you said,” Soren stepped in. “And just now, you said that the earlier you leave, the better off you guys would be. Doesn’t sound very</em><em> friendly and helpful if you ask me.”</em></p><p>“<em>Jesse, Soren, I promise I can explain, I just--”</em></p><p>
  <em>But before Petra could finish explaining herself, a loud static noise caused Jesse’s eardrums to explode.</em>
</p><hr/><p>Jesse immediately brought her hands up to her ears, trying desperately to muffle that ear-shattering horrible sound, to no avail. Right when she thought her head was going to explode, it finally stopped, leaving her ears ringing from the shrill volume of the static sound.</p><p>“Augh!” cried Jesse, but froze when she saw Petra’s look, her eyes staring at something behind her. Jesse slowly turned around, to see a figure that she recognized instantly.</p><p>Standing there at the gates to Beacontown, was a female hologram. The figure in the hologram had vibrant magenta messy hair, a purple colored suit with glowing yellow gems, and yellow skin. Her lips and nose had a blue tint to them and her pupils were glowing pink. She was the figure that was laughing in Jesse’s visions when she first found the Heckmouth.</p><p>“YOU!” Jesse jumped, not expecting such a threatening sound to come out of Soren’s mouth.</p><p>The hologram responded with shrill high-pitched laughter. Wow that was so much more ear-splitting in person.</p><p>“Me,” she answered. Her voice had a slight robotic undertone. “Of course it’s me, the Admin.”</p><p>“Look at that, you finally stopped hiding behind a colossus and revealed your true face,” snarled Soren.</p><p>The Admin simply snickered in response.</p><p>“Well, Jesse, it seems we’ve learned one thing along the way. You may be a thief, but you <em>did</em> kill a giant Ender-Colossus. That takes guts, and guts is enough in my book.</p><p>“In any case.” The Admin continued. “While that Colossus might be all fun and games, I feel like it’ll be easier to discuss things like this.”</p><p>“Hold up, that was your idea of fun?” Jesse said, scandalized.</p><p>“Wow, rude.” The Admin scoffed, narrowing her eyes at Jesse. “What I’m <em>trying</em> to say is that you five went into Hyl and escaped alive. You’ll be perfect for what I’ve got cooked up for you next.”</p><p>The Admin snickered again, and raised her right hand. Jesse felt a wave of pure energy ride through her, and to her horror, the sky turned dark again.</p><p class="western">“Not again!” Jesse groaned.</p><p class="western">“For your sake, I hope you and your citizens have slept recently, don’t want to be attacked by phantoms now do we? Mwahahahahahahahahahahaha!”</p><p class="western">That laugh continued to make Jesse’s skin crawl. She did not like it one bit.</p><p class="western">“Psycho, that one!” Sammy said.</p><p class="western">Jesse nodded in agreement.</p><p class="western">“Ugh, come on? Some zombies? So scary,” she said, voice dripping with sarcasm.</p><p class="western">“Wow, you can actually use sarcasm,” the Admin said in a deadpan voice, adopting a mock-baby voice. “Awww, does poor baby Jesse want a widdle medal? Mwahahahahahahahahahahaha!”</p><p class="western">The Admin cleared her throat, her demeanor becoming serious.</p><p class="western">“Your objective is simple. If you want to pull your pathetic little town and it’s pathetic little citizens out of eternal night, you will need to go and recapture that clock,” she instructed.</p><p class="western">“Which is where?” Jack asked.</p><p class="western">The Admin responded with another burst of her high-pitched laughter.</p><p class="western">“You really think I’m going to tell you?” she said, still wheezing. “Unlike you, I’m not that gullible. But I will give you a hint. All you have to do, is follow this redstone trail. Easy!”</p><p class="western">Sure enough, a redstone trail appeared behind her, slowly disappearing into the woods separating Beacontown from Champion City.</p><p class="western">“Well, that sounds needlessly dangerous,” Petra remarked.</p><p class="western">“Fine, we accept your challenge. I’m going to get that clock, and then you’re next,” threatened Jesse.</p><p class="western">The Admin simply blinked. “What, was that supposed to scare me or something?”</p><p class="western">“Why are you doing this? What do you want from us?” Jesse asked.</p><p class="western">“Why? Mainly for my entertainment! I loved watching you fight that colossus, and I’m sure you too must have had the time of your life fighting that thing.”</p><p class="western">Jesse had a gut-feeling that she wasn’t being entirely honest, that there was an ulterior motive besides entertainment. Her right hand itched toward her sword, but Soren beat her to it.</p><p class="western">“That’s it, I’m tired of listening to your jaw snap, Admin!” Soren exclaimed.</p><p class="western">Soren unsheathed his sword and lunged straight at the hologram, only to phase right through her. The Admin gave another laugh in response.</p><p class="western">“You can’t attack a hologram, dummy! Seems all that time in the End has made your brain mushy. Pity,” she taunted, turning to face Soren who was now behind her, she clapped her hands together, another wave of pure energy, and Jesse saw armored skeletons appear behind the group, inside Beacontown.</p><p class="western">“Strays,” she explained. “A mob quite frequent in snow biomes <em>and</em>, Beacontown’s newest residents until you get through my new challenge. Remember, follow the trail, find the clock, save the world. Ciao!”</p><p class="western">The hologram faded.</p><p>“Augh! We need to protect the people!” Jesse instructed.</p><p>Sammy and Nurm turned around and ran back inside the town.</p><p>“RUN!” Sammy screamed as they ran off. Meanwhile, Jesse, Petra, Jack and Soren unsheathed their swords and proceeded to start attacking the mobs that the Admin had spawned. Once all of the mobs were taken care of, Jack spoke up.</p><p>“I’ve got a bad feeling more will be on the way soon.”</p><p>“Guys?” Lukas’ voice called out. Jesse saw Lukas, Radar, Sammy and Nurm race towards them.</p><p>“Jesse! I am so sorry. I was standing guard, watching it so close, but it just disappeared!” Radar reported.</p><p>“I know, and now the situation is just going to get worse until we get it back.” Jesse said.</p><p>“Yeah, from wherever it is,” added Petra.</p><p>“Wherever you’re going, I’m coming too,” said Radar “I was given the title, and the power, of Clockmaster. If it’s to keep Beacontown safe… I’ll do anything.”</p><p>“Oh man, proud of you, Radar.”</p><p>“Really?”</p><p>“Of course!” Jesse nodded.</p><p>“Well, I… I won’t let you down!”</p><p>“All right, everyone,” announced Jesse. “We’ve got a clock to find.”</p><p>As they went to leave, Jack stopped Nurm.</p><p>“Can’t let you come along on this one, old friend--”</p><p>Nurm made a few concerned vocalisations.</p><p>“I promise, I will come back,” promised Jack.</p><p>“You stay safe, Nurm, okay?” said Jesse.</p><p>Nurm responded by giving her a hug. At the same time, Stacy and Stampy came out of where they were hiding.</p><p>“Is that… woman gone?” asked Stacy.</p><p>“Yeah, for now,” replied Jesse. “Block this up after we leave, would ya?”</p><p>“On it.”</p><p>“Yes! We will defend Beacontown with our very lives!” pledged Stampy.</p><p>“Jesse, come on!” Soren called out.</p><p>“Thanks, guys. Bye Nurm!”</p><p>Stacy and Stampy waved at them as they walked away into the night.</p><p>“We’re all counting on you!” shouted Stampy.</p><p>“I wish I knew more about whatever their quest is.”</p><p>The first thing Jesse noticed as they walked off into the night was that the dark sky had a blood red hue to match the redstone path in-front of them. Nobody really said anything for the first part of the journey, until Jesse stopped upon hearing a noise and took a look around.</p><p>“Stay close,” she whispered, before continuing on. The group continued to follow her.</p><p>“I don’t mean to sound suspicious,” Jack said. “But do we really thing the Admin is going to keep her word about this clock?”</p><p>“Yeah, I don’t exactly get a ‘trustworthy’ vibe off of her,” agreed Petra.</p><p>“Oh, she is anything but ‘trustworthy’, I’ll give you that right now,” added Soren.</p><p>“If she knows what’s good for her, she better keep her deal,” said Jesse. “We get the clock, the town’s freed from eternal darkness.”</p><p>“And hey, if she doesn’t stick to the deal, we’ll just need to find another, punchier, way to convince her,” Petra said, punching her fists together.</p><p>Petra moved closer to Jesse.</p><p>“Hey, Jesse. Uh… can we… um… talk?”</p><p>“Right, I’ll just walk a little bit away from you. Give you some privacy,” said Sammy, moving away from Jesse and Petra.</p><p>“Oh! Uh, right, ha, me… me too,” said Radar.</p><p class="western">“About that trip with Jack,” Petra started. “I promise, it’s not like it seems. It’s just a little trip. A little time away from Beacontown. To, I dunno, find myself?”</p><p class="western">Had the Admin not showed up and forced them on this quest, it definitely seemed like Petra and Jack were gonna rush off without telling Jesse. She couldn’t help but feel betrayed, thinking about it.</p><p class="western">“And you didn’t invite me. You didn’t even tell me until Soren and I caught you,” Jesse pointed out.</p><p class="western">“I, I thought you would be busy with all the rebuilding and everything,” Petra admitted. “I, I really am sorry that it happened this way. I was just so excited to be hanging out with real, hardcore adventurers again.</p><p class="western">“Especially because I was worried that you, that you didn’t… need me anymore,” she finished.</p><p class="western">“Petra, of course I need you. That’s ridiculous,” said Jesse</p><p class="western">“Ugh! See, this is why it would’ve been so much easier if you hadn’t found out like this. It’s just…”</p><p class="western">Petra sighed.</p><p class="western">“Everything’s so different from when we first became friends. Everything’s changed,” Petra ranted. “Lukas, Axel, Olivia, they all changed too. They found what made them happy. Their <em>thing.</em>”</p><p class="western">“But me? I still haven’t found mine,” Petra continued. “Do you know how hard that is? How- how that feels?”</p><p class="western">“I think we both know that you’re the only one that can find the answer to that, Petra,” said Jesse.</p><p class="western">“Yeah, I know. Just wish existential crises came with maps, y’know?”</p><p class="western">A noise made the group stop. Jesse slowly walked up to the front of the group and waved the torch she was carrying around. A silhouette of a mob was approaching them in the distance, and it eventually entered the light, revealing it to be….</p><p class="western">“Lluna?” Jesse questioned. Yup, it was just a small llama known as Lluna.</p><p class="western">“Is that llama wearing a scarf?” asked Sammy.</p><p class="western">“Huh, think she ran away again?” Petra suggested.</p><p class="western">“Uh, excuse me,” Lukas spoke up. “Speaking for the group; you guys know a llama?”</p><p class="western">“Where’d she come from?” Sammy questioned.</p><p class="western">“She’s just a goofy llama,” Jesse commented. “Little weird, but nice enough.”</p><p class="western">“Don’t know if you’ve looked in the mirror lately, but I’d watch who you’re calling ‘goofy.’” A familiar voice answered. “Everyone get away from my llama!”</p><p class="western">It was Stella.</p><p class="western">“No!” Petra groaned.</p><p class="western">“Jesse! My rival,” greeted Stella. “Should’ve known I would find you here.”</p><p class="western">Lluna made a noise.</p><p class="western">“Hush, I’m talking.”</p><p class="western">“Stella, listen. I don’t know what you think you’re doing here, but you should get home,” said Jesse. “It’s dangerous.”</p><p class="western">“Hmph, trying to hog all this… whatever it is for yourself? I see your game.”</p><p class="western">Jesse honestly didn’t know who she disliked more, the Admin or Stella. If she didn’t know better, she’d say they were sisters.</p><p class="western">“Okay, what is going on here?” asked Lukas.</p><p class="western">“Lukas, this is Stella. The leader of Champion City,” Jesse introduced. “This is Jack, Sammy, Soren and Radar.”</p><p class="western">Stella turned towards Jack.</p><p class="western">“Jacques, was it? As in, the legendary champion?” she asked. “And Soren? As in Soren from the original Order of the Stone?”</p><p class="western">Jack raised an eyebrow and grinned sheepishly. Soren glanced around.</p><p class="western">“So, what exactly are you doing here, Stella?”</p><p class="western">“I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention, but you might have noticed that the entire world is now trapped in this hideous red colored night. That’s what,” said Stella. “I came out to investigate and surprise, surprise, it’s you. If you’re smart, you’ll undo, whatever it is you did and put things right again.”</p><p class="western">“Just, wow,” Petra commented.</p><p class="western">“It wasn’t me that did this,” protested Jesse. “It was the Admin.”</p><p class="western">“Huh, I don’t know who this ‘Adam’ is, but it seems awfully rude to pin it on him,” said Stella.</p><p class="western">“No! Admin. Ad-min, and she’s a girl. She’s like, argh, she’s a big giant evil woman. Super powerful,” Jesse sighed. Stella was once again being impossible.</p><p class="western">“Hmm? All right… let’s say I believe you,” shrugged Stella. “I suppose I’ll just have to find a way to fix it – it’s my world too, after all.”</p><p class="western">Stella jumped onto the back of her llama.</p><p class="western">“You’ll see, I’ll fix it all on my own. I don’t need any of you <em>losers</em>.”</p><p class="western">Stella noticed the moon, and gasped in surprise. Jesse saw what she was gaping at.</p><p class="western">The moon was colored red to match the red sky, and it kept glitching around, stuck in place.</p><p class="western">“Whoa. The moon!” exclaimed Jesse, voice trailing off as she found herself at a loss for words.</p><p class="western">“Okay, that’s freaky,” added Jack.</p><p class="western">“So, Stella, you were saying?”</p><p class="western">“I was saying that… maybe I’ll… stick around for a bit. Just to keep an eye on you,” Stella suggested.</p><p class="western">Jesse rolled her eyes before continuing on.</p><p class="western">“Y’know, I’m all for trying to find my own path,” said Petra. “But does it really have to have Stella on it?”</p><p class="western">Jesse chuckled. They continued on in silence until an echo from Lluna made Radar jump.</p><p class="western">“Uh, you okay, Radar?” asked Jack.</p><p class="western">“Yes! Yes, totally fine.”</p><p class="western">“Guys, shh,” snapped Jesse. “We need to keep an eye-- whoa!”</p><p class="western">Jesse’s eyes widened upon seeing what was right in-front of them. A giant Redstone Palace loomed out of the ground like a sore thumb. Jesse could see millions of redstone circuits, connecting to various different things within the tower.</p><p class="western">“I’m… actually kind of speechless right now,” Jack commented.</p><p class="western">“Man, all that redstone wiring. Color me impressed,” added Petra.</p><p class="western">“If only Ellegaard were here,” mused Soren.</p><p class="western">“Jack, Soren, speechless?” Jesse said. “Lukas, you better write that down.”</p><p class="western">“Already jotted them down under ‘rare occurrences and phenomena’,” said Lukas, tucking his book away.</p><p class="western">“Hey come on,” protested Jack. “Rude.”</p><p class="western">“Hey, found the clock!” Lukas spotted.</p><p class="western">Looking up, Jesse saw the yellow outline of the clock. Of course, it had to be suspended over 200 feet off the ground.</p><p class="western">“Oh, perfect,” said Petra. “But how are we gonna get up there?”</p><p class="western">“Well, the Admin mentioned <em>challenges</em>,” said Jesse. “I’m guessing there’s gonna be, like, obstacles or something when we get there.”</p><p class="western">“Wait, do I have this right?” questioned Stella. “Are you telling me that this <em>Admin</em> woman is so powerful, she built all of this instantly?”</p><p class="western">“You sound almost jealous,” said Radar.</p><p class="western">“<em>Almost?</em>Of course I’m jealous of power like that. Power is how the world is run, little man. It’s what people respect. What they listen to.”</p><p class="western">“Stella, I know you haven’t met her yet, but I promise you – The Admin is nuts,” said Jesse.</p><p class="western">“Trust me Stella, she is the last person you want to be associating with,” agreed Soren.</p><p class="western">“Ah, lesser minds often <em>do</em> mistake true genius for madness,” Stella brushed aside their concerns.</p><p class="western">“On second thought, maybe I <em>do</em> want you to meet her,” continued Soren. “Maybe then you’ll perhaps understand why you shouldn’t defend her.”</p><p class="western">“Oh, Stella, you’ll never change...” said Radar.</p><p class="western">“Oh, I thought I recognized you!” Stella recognized, her voice almost going as high as the Admin’s voice. “You’re the quitter who used to work on my inventory management team!”</p><p class="western">“Wait, wait. Do you two know each other?” Jesse asked.</p><p class="western">“Uh, yeah. I, uh, I used to live in Champion City,” Radar admitted.</p><p class="western">“What?”</p><p class="western">“I don’t know what he told you to get on this little ‘team’ but I don’t think he even knows how to use a sword,” Stella whispered.</p><p class="western">“Oh, you don’t know anything, Stella, so… zip it!” snapped Radar.</p><p class="western">“Ooh, how do you put up with that little voice of his, Jesse? I know I never could.”</p><p class="western">“I’d leave him alone if I were you, Stella. Unless you want to try me again that is…?” suggested Jesse.</p><p class="western">“If I remember right, that didn’t work out so well last time,” agreed Petra.</p><p class="western">“You act so high and mighty but you really are just a bully sometimes, you know that?”</p><p class="western">“Says the woman picking on someone just because they don’t consider sword-fighting their daily job,” said Soren. “If that attitude’s the norm around Champion City, I think I’ll give that place a miss.”</p><p class="western">Stella rolled her eyes. “Come on, lluna!”</p><p class="western">Lluna responded by bucking her off. Stella got to her feet and ran after her.</p><p class="western">“Thanks guys,” said Radar. “I appreciate that. I’m not the person she thinks I am anymore. I’ve changed, and I can prove it.”</p><p class="western">“As far as I’m concerned, Radar, you don’t need to change,” Jesse stated.</p><p class="western">“Just be yourself, Radar,” agreed Soren. “And if stuck-up precious little princess over there doesn’t like it, that’s her problem.”</p><p class="western">“See, and that’s what makes you one million times the leader she’ll ever be,” Radar said.</p><p class="western">As they rejoined the group, Lukas whistled in amazement.</p><p class="western">“Would you look at that,”</p><p class="western">“Yeah, the Old Builders have nothing on the Admin, that’s for sure,” agreed Jesse.</p><p class="western">“Haven’t seen anything that grand since the last time I visited the Overcompensating Builders of E’gesh,” Jack added.</p><p class="western">“You and me both,” Sammy agreed.</p><p class="western">Jesse saw a lever to the right.</p><p class="western">“Oh boy, my favorite: mystery levers,” Petra commented.</p><p class="western">Jesse approached it and pulled it. The static noise from before was heard, albeit much quieter and the hologram of the Admin appeared again. Once again, Soren looked ready to kill.</p><p class="western">“Well, well, well,” The Admin said. “Who do we have here? Didn’t expect there to be so many people here.”</p><p class="western">“Here we go again,” sighed Jesse.</p><p class="western">“Still a little early to make judgements yet, but I can’t say I’m very sure of your choice of company though,” The Admin pointed out. “This building here, it’s specifically designed to cater for the best of the best.”</p><p class="western">The Admin glanced at Sammy, Petra, Jack and Soren, before moving her gaze to Lukas, Radar and Stella.</p><p class="western">“Not for your average bottom feeder like these guys.”</p><p class="western">Stella stepped up.</p><p class="western">“Admin, ma’am. I’m Stella,” she introduced herself. “Founder of Champion City, maybe you’ve heard of me?”</p><p class="western">“Can’t say I have,” said the Admin. “But I really do like your style though, Stella. I just hope that you have what it takes to make it through to the end.”</p><p class="western">The Admin turned around and focused her glowing pink gaze on the giant Redstone Palace.</p><p class="western">“This place here? It’s designed to separate the true and strong from the pathetic and weak,” she said. “So, ready to find out just how capable your miserable excuses of companions are? Mwahahahahahahahahahahaha!”</p><p class="western">Once again, that laugh made Jesse’s skin crawl.</p><p class="western">“You watch it, missy,” warned Jack.</p><p class="western">“Wow, I’m terrified,” the Admin deadpanned sarcastically, giving Jack a bored stare.</p><p class="western">“And who exactly made you the judge?” asked Jesse.</p><p class="western">“My omnipotent powers, dummy?” answered the Admin. “Seems you’re more brain-dead than I thought. Not surprising though, considering you had to gall to steal from me <em>twice</em>.”</p><p class="western">“Like I said, Radar,” stated Stella. “Power runs the world.”</p><p class="western">“See? Stella gets it!” The Admin exclaimed in response. “New devices and creations of my own design, plus mining fatigue at every nook and cranny. Not taking any chances when thieves like you are rubbing your greasy hands all over it!</p><p class="western">“I can see that you all want to get to that clock, but first, you have to get through my challenges,” The Admin continued. “And trust me, they’re hard. Really, <em>really,</em> hard! To be honest, I can only see Jesse here making it to the end.”</p><p class="western">“People’s lives are at stake here,” snapped Jesse.</p><p class="western">“Do I look like I care?” questioned the Admin before clapping her hands. The floor underneath them opened up, dropping them into a pit. The Admin gave one last sinister chuckle before the hologram disappeared.</p><hr/><p class="western">Author’s Notes: And here we are, the chapter where the original Redstone Nightmares started.</p><hr/><p class="western">Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</p><p class="western">More to follow.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Act II - Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Act II – Chapter 10</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</span>
</p><hr/><p class="western">“<span><em>People’s lives are at stake here,” snapped Jesse.</em></span></p><p class="western">“<span><em>Do I look like I care?” questioned the Admin before clapping her hands. The floor underneath them opened up, dropping them into a pit. The Admin gave one last sinister chuckle before the hologram disappeared.</em></span></p><hr/><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse felt herself land face-first into the floor below. Looking up, she saw Jack running along the wall, before jumping off and landing spectacularly on his feet in-front of Jesse.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Nice landing,” she commented.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Ah, it’s nothing,” he said. “It’s just my perfect reflexes and photographic muscle memory.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>The door above them snapped shut, trapping them inside.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Well, that’s it then,” said Radar. “The way is shut.”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Yes, I guess the only way out, is through the challenge then,” Sammy responded.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Yeah! And smashing that clock,” Petra finished, excited.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Well, we’re not all going to be smashing the clock,” said Stella.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Say what now?”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>You heard the Admin, she only wants the best of the best. And that’s going to be me.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Lukas scoffed. “Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding.”</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Sorry, handsome. Might as well quit now.”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Nuh-uh, no way, Stella,” cut in Jesse. “I’m taking you down.”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Oh, I knew you were my rival, Jesse,” laughed Stella.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse gave Stella a glare as they continued on. Looking around, Jesse saw that the giant hallway looked very similar to the interior of PAMA’s core. They were on a glass pathway, and Jesse saw loads of redstone circuits flashing on and off in the distance.</span>
</p><p class="western">
  <span>Eventually, they reached the end of the catwalk, in which the path split into two and led towards two tunnels, each with a set of minecarts.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Wow, it’s… it’s amazing,” gawked Stella.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Hmph, you’re her little buddy, Jesse. You know anything about what might happen after we get the clock?” Jack asked.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Imagine the Admin as your friend, all of the things you could create and do with an ally like that,” said Sammy.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>All I know, is that I don’t trust anything the Admin says,” said Jesse.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Agreed. I’d rather face another Wither-Storm than be her friend,” spat Soren.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Come on, Lluna!” Stella called out. “Enough of these losers! We’ve got treasure to find. Treasure-sniffing llama. Mm-hmm, yeah, tell your friends.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Stella striked Lluna in the rear end.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Hey!” said Soren angrily.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Hey! That’s cheating!” said Jesse. “Pretty sure the Admin would frown on us using an advantage like Lluna.”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Hmph, the Admin said it’s about seeing how far we can go,” said Stella, the concept of cheating going in one ear and out the other. “So I’m going. Let’s go, Lluna!”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Lluna gave Jesse a sad look before turning around and rejoining Stella.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Well, that woman does appear to have a strong idea of what she wants,” Sammy commented.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Are you kidding? She’s nuts,” Lukas said.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>No one knows better than I that the Admin’s tests and traps certainly do mean business,” Sammy continued.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>You’ve got a point there, old friend. I don’t want to see anyone else get hurt,” Jack agreed.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Yes, and it’s like she said. Not everyone here might be, up to the task,” Sammy added.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Lukas and Radar glared at Sammy.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>I’m just trying to be honest with you guys,” Sammy defended herself. “I don’t exactly see you two doing much fighting.”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Then I guess we’re just gonna prove how wrong the Admin is,” said Jesse.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Fine!” Sammy conceded. “But, if something happens to them, I won’t be the one to blame. Come with me, Jack. Let’s try and scope this place out.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Sammy and Jack walked away.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>I’m… I’m gonna go talk to them,” sighed Petra, before joining them.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Well, I have never been so offended, not in my whole life,” Radar remarked.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Yeah. That, wasn’t the coolest,” Lukas agreed.</span></p><p class="western">“<span><em>Wasn’t the coolest?</em></span><span> Oh, no. Misfiling your acacia wood during material organization week </span><span><em>isn’t the coolest.</em></span><span> That was, that was a stripe too far!” Radar ranted. “Just because I’m not some sword-swinging meathead, they think they can just walk all over me! Th-th-they think, they look at me, and my, well, skinny little arms, and they think they know me? They think they know me!? Well, they are wrong, dead wrong! I mean, I have been an embarrassment sometimes, but it stops here! IT ENDS TODAY! And, I… I guess I’m done. Sorry!”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>I need you to remember that out there, the world is stuck in eternal night,” reminded Jesse. “And there are a lot of scared people back in Beacontown who are counting on us!”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>You’re right.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Petra approached Jesse.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>We were talking and decided it would be best – for everyone – if Radar stays here, with Lukas and Soren, while we go get the clock,” she said.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Excuse me?” huffed Soren.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Before Jesse could respond, a noise from Lluna got their attention.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>That’s it, Lluna darling!” Stella appraised. “She’s got the clock’s scent! Haha! Later losers!”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Stella and Lluna sped away on minecarts.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>We’re wasting time!” yelled Jack as he and Sammy raced into the minecarts behind them.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Wait, it’s like Jesse said, we can’t trust the Admin!” said Radar. “Sure, it </span><span><em>looks</em></span><span> like Lluna found something, but that’s-”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>-just what the Admin wants us to think,” Lukas finished.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Good thinking there, Radar!” praised Soren.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>You saw the llama!” Sammy called out. Petra looked at Jesse.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Jesse? You’re coming, right?” Petra asked.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Meanwhile Soren, Radar and Lukas had entered the minecarts on the other side.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>We could really use a hand over here,” Lukas said.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse decided to go with Lukas, Soren and Radar.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>I gotta go with them,” Jesse said. “Be safe, okay?”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>If you’re sure,” Petra responded.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse hopped onto a minecart behind Radar.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Woo-hoo! I knew you’d make the smart choice!” exclaimed Radar.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>The minecarts lurched into action and sped off. It was as </span>
  <span>i</span>
  <span>f they were </span>
  <span>on</span>
  <span> a rollercoaster. The track rapidly angled upwards.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>This place is huge!” Jesse commented as he took a look around. The entire room had a red hue, and Jesse saw redstone trails everywhere.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Oh boy!” Lukas exclaimed as the track angled downwards, the minecarts racing towards top speed.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>I QUESTION MY JUDGEMENT!” Radar screamed as they rapidly sped around corners. Soren was just screaming his head off.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>This went on for about 30 more seconds before they reached the end of the track.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Well, that’s one way to get where you’re going!” remarked Lukas.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Everybody okay?” Jesse asked.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Definitely! What a rush,” answered Lukas.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Haven’t had that much of an adrenaline rush in </span><span><em>years</em></span><span>!” said Soren.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Radar slowly peaked his head out of the minecart.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Ah, uh, I’m all right,” Radar said. “I’m oka-”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Radar made a noise as if he was about to throw up. Jesse covered his eyes.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Ugh, I am so sorry,” Radar apologized. “I’m okay, really. Just getting my adventure legs. I’ll be better in a min-”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Radar almost threw up again.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Hey, it’s okay. Take the time you need.”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Yeah, we’ll wait,” Lukas said.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>No, no, no, no, no. Oh, It’s not so bad. I can do this.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>The hologram of the purple figure known as the Admin appeared again.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Oh you poor thing,” She drawled. “I pity your friends if you can’t handle something as trivial as a minecart. Hello there, me again. The hologram known as the Admin.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>The Admin gave a chuckle after uttering that statement. She began to walk into the next room, Jesse, Lukas, Soren and Radar following.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Luckily for you, though, you chose the easier path. This room is simple. All you have to do, is find the exit,” said the Admin, showing off the next challenge room.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>So we have to… escape the room?” said Jesse.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>More or less,” answered the Admin. “Not going to get any hints from me though. That’d be ruining it.”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>I don’t need your hints, this game will be over before it even gets started,” responded Jesse.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Well, isn’t </span><span><em>someone</em></span><span> a little bit cocky today?” said the Admin. “Anyway, why are we wasting time talking? Let’s get to figuring out this room already.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>The Admin raised her left arm. Radar and Lukas floated 10 feet into the air, before disappearing.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>LUKAS! RADAR!” exclaimed Jesse.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Don’t worry, they’re still here!”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse saw Radar and Lukas reappear in two of the closed off rooms.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>But the question remains, will you be able to get them out?”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?” Radar shouted.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>The Admin gave another burst of high-pitched laughter.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Good luck! Mwahahahahahahaha!”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>And the Admin’s hologram disappeared.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Okay, escape time!” sighed Jesse. She approached the middle of the room, where she saw a sculpture in the middle. One looked like a spider, the other a creeper.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Half-creeper, half-spider. Charming.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>She stepped in. “Time to build.”</span>
</p><p class="western">
  <span>Assuming that since only one side is made out of easily mined blocks, she had to tackle that side. She immediately removed the creeper half of the sculpture. She approached Lukas to the left.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>What’cha got back there?” she asked.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Looks like it was supposed to be a cobweb,” said Lukas. “But half of the blocks are missing.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Looking at the missing blocks, Jesse saw that it looked very similar to the clay she just mined up, so she called him over and gave him the blocks.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>This clay should fill up the spots in the floor,” she said.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>All right, hold on,” said Lukas as he used it to fill in the spots. After doing so, a dispenser dispensed two blocks. Lukas picked them up and handed them to Jesse.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Soren quickly approached Jesse.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Jesse, I believe we may need your help on our side here,” he said, gesturing for Jesse to follow. Jesse followed Soren to Radar’s side, where he seemed to be having some problems with a lever puzzle.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>You okay, Radar?” asked Jesse.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>WHY DON’T YOU COME WITH INSTRUCTIONS!?” shouted Radar as he struggled to figure it out. </span><span>“No, I’m not okay. I need some kind of help here. I need help getting past this stupid iron door. This contraption here looks like it’s supposed to do something, but I can’t seem to figure out what. Any thoughts?”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse took a look at the four sets of lever</span>
  <span>s</span>
  <span> inside Radar’s cage. It seems they needed to be activated in a set order. After a few minutes of staring at it, Jesse saw a few clues that led to the order the levers need to be activated in. After telling Radar this, Radar activated it in the order that Jesse said.</span>
</p><p class="western">
  <span>The iron door slammed open, to reveal a chest.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Ah, it’s so simple now!” Radar exclaimed before racing to the chest. Radar opened it up, took a redstone block out and handed it back to Jesse.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Thanks,” said Jesse as she took it. She moved to the statue and filled in the right half, matching it with the left half. “Looks as perfect as a creepy statue can get.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>At once, the doors to the three cages opened.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Jesse, you did it!” Lukas exclaimed.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>HOORAY!” Radar exclaimed.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Nice work, Jesse!” Soren appraised.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>The room started rumbling and the floor underneath them began to lower. Immediately, the group of four raced onto the platform with the spider head building on it. It was opening up to reveal a water pit.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Uh, guys?” Lukas called out, nervously. He pointed to the ceiling of the room. Purple colored spiders were crawling out of the ceiling, and down the walls towards them.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Everyone, run!” Jesse shouted, before running towards the final puzzle of the room. She pulled on the door, only to find it locked.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Another puzzle!” Radar exclaimed.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Jesse, we’ll hold them off. Solve the puzzle,” instructed Lukas.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>On it.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Soren joined Lukas while Radar stayed behind with Jesse.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Just need to make something to activate that redstone circuit again. There’s gotta be something in here we can use,” Jesse said to Radar. she opened a chest and pulled out a bunch of spider eyes.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Ugh, who would fill a chest with spider eyes?” Jesse commented. Looking at the item frames, she saw that some of them seemed to match up with the banners, but the others had a red colored banner on top of them instead of cyan. Jesse looked at the spider eyes that she pulled out, and they seemed to be similar colored.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Come on, Jesse!” Radar said.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Acting blindly, Jesse replaced the diamonds with spider eyes on the frames with a red banner. A chest moved out of the wall underneath them.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Yes, guys. I got it. There’s a chest,” Jesse called out.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>A chest?” repeated Soren.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Can it open the door?” Lukas asked.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse opened the chest and pulled out some glass, wood slabs and nether quartz.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Glass, wood slabs, nether quartz?”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Daylight Sensor!” Soren exclaimed, rushing in and taking the items. He rushed to a crafting table and rapidly crafted it into a daylight sensor. He put it into the slot with the empty redstone trail and switched it to inverse mode. The door opened.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>And it’s open!”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Ni-ice!” Lukas commented.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Why thank you,” said Soren. “I used these all over the place back at my fortress before it got destroyed by the Wither-Storm.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>But in their haste, they forgot about one problem. Purple spiders were beginning to surround Radar, and they picked him up.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>JESSE HEEEELLLP!” Radar screamed as they threw him off the edge.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>RADAR!”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Guys, we have to move,” Lukas said, before racing towards the door. Jesse and Soren followed.</span></p><hr/><p class="western">“<span>Oh no, Jesse,” whispered Lukas as Jesse got a distant look.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Jesse, I am so sorry,” apologized Soren as they reached the catwalk leading to the next room.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>We could have saved him!” snapped Jesse.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Jesse! Listen to me,” cut in Soren. “There was nothing we could do. It was impossible to save him.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse sighed. “I guess you’re right.”</span>
</p><p class="western">
  <span>Soren simply gave her a tap of the shoulder in comfort.</span>
</p><p class="western">
  <span>Petra and Jack appeared behind them.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Petra!” Jesse called out. Jack meanwhile had the same look that Jesse had gotten just a few seconds ago.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse heard a muffled scream come from below her. Racing towards the edge, she took a look at the water below. She saw Radar come out of a pipe, get washed down the water current and disappear through another tunnel. Not only that, but Jesse saw that Stella and Sammy were in the same situation.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>HELP ME!”</span></p><p class="western">“Hello? Help! Um, a little help here?” Stella pleaded.</p><p class="western">“No, no, no, no, no!” Jack screamed.</p><p class="western">“No one deserves this,” Lukas said. “Not even Stella. She might be a bit stuck up, and she doesn’t really treat anyone that nicely, but…”</p><p class="western">“Radar and Sammy need us, Stella’s been totally impossible, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help her,” Jesse agreed.</p><p class="western">“Ugh, you have a point,” Petra groaned.</p><p class="western">The Admin appeared in the doorway in-front of them as they raced up, leaving behind a trail of purple ender-particles. This time, she was no longer a hologram, but actually there in person.</p><p class="western">“Stop!”</p><p class="western">
  <span>She put up a force-field at lightning-speed. Unable to react, the group bounced off of it and landed back down the stairs.</span>
</p><p class="western">“Just, just stop for a moment! You’ve got this wrong! All wrong! You’re not supposed to help each other,” The Admin explained. “You’re supposed to be trying to get ahead of each other. Just take ginger-beard here for example.”</p><p class="western">Soren flinched back in surprise.</p><p class="western">“He and Radar were supposed to figure out that lever room by themselves, without your help. And yet you just gave the solution of that room to <span>them</span>, making them do little work themselves. And then Soren did the daylight sensor puzzle for <em>you</em>, rather than letting you figure that one out on your own.”</p><p class="western">Jesse noticed that the Admin was not laughing hysterically after every sentence, and that she was giving them a look of annoyance, rather than sadistic pleasure.</p><p class="western">“And that defeats the whole purpose of me putting you through those challenges. It’s meant to highlight the strong people in a group, and you can’t exactly do that, if everyone is helping each other.”</p><p class="western">“<span>Teamwork makes the dream work, Admin,” Jesse responded. “You can’t always do everything alone.”</span></p><p class="western">The Admin gave Jesse a glare, and she responded by unsheathing her sword. Lukas raised his bow, and Petra unsheathed an iron sword, Soren unsheathing a gold one.</p><p class="western">“Fine!” The Admin conceded. “We’ll play it your way, see how long that’ll last you.</p><p class="western">“But now, this is where the fun really begins,” The Admin said, her sadistic playful demeanor reappearing. “I’m going to put it out there now that this next room is a little bit… dangerous.”</p><p class="western">So was every other room in this place. The Admin gave another burst of her high-pitched laughter. Jesse was really starting to hate this woman.</p><p class="western">“And one more thing,” The Admin said, before raising her hand. Soren began to float upwards.</p><p class="western">“GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME YOU – HEY! PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT! ARGH!”</p><p class="western">Soren went flying into the room in-front of them.</p><p class="western">“NO!” Jesse screamed.</p><p class="western">“SOREN!” Jack exclaimed.</p><p class="western">“If you are really that concerned with helping everybody, maybe you might find some way to help Soren out of the predicament he’s in. Mmkay?” The Admin said. “Don’t answer, I know you will. Welp, ciao!”</p><p class="western">
  <span>The Admin disappeared. Jesse, Petra, Jack and Lukas rushed into the room in pursuit of Soren. He landed on a set of wooden pressure plates. A shulker appeared and immediately hit Soren with a bolt, causing him to float.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Ah! Wh-whoooa!”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>As Jesse moved to grab him, the floor collapsed into itself, revealing another stream of water underneath.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>We gotta help him!” said Jack.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse spotted a door on the top right-hand side of the room.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>THE DOOR! YOU HAVE TO GET TO THE DOOR!” screamed Jesse, to no avail, as Soren did not hear her.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Jesse, Soren doesn’t have it. He’s not gonna make it!” said Petra.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>We can’t just stand here!”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse getting an idea, immediately headed for another wooden pressure plate, which revealed another shulker. After getting hit with the bolt, she began to float upwards. Dodging the dangers, she managed to get up to Soren’s level.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Soren! The door!” Jesse said.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>What? What door? Oh, that door!” Soren responded, seeing the door that Jesse was talking about. “Augh! I don’t think I’m gonna make it!”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Grab onto me!” said Jesse, grabbing Soren’s hand. They began to leap straight towards the door, only to get knocked straight out of the air. Jesse landed on her face, while Jack leapt in and caught Soren before he fell into the water.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>How… did you...” began Soren as Jack pulled him up.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Photographic muscle memory.”</span></p><p class="western">“This, this is impossible,” Jesse said. “The Admin told us to go through her stupid challenge, but maybe we can find another way.”</p><p class="western">Jesse heard a llama noise through the iron wall.</p><p class="western">“Did anyone-?” Lukas started.</p><p class="western">Jesse pressed her ear against the wall and heard more noises from Lluna.</p><p class="western">“Lluna? If that llama can get to the other side of the wall, so can we,” Jesse said.</p><p class="western">She raised an arm and proceeded to try and punch through the wall, when her arm suddenly felt weak. Stupid mining fatigue.</p><p class="western">“Yeah, we’re never punching through that. Anyone got anything to make a pickaxe?” Jesse asked.</p><p class="western">Lukas pulled out some sticks.</p><p class="western">“I have some sticks,” said Lukas.</p><p class="western">Jesse pulled out the diamonds that she got from the previous room.</p><p class="western">“Three diamonds.”</p><p class="western">“<span>That sounds like a diamond pickaxe to me,” Jack concluded.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Wait, wait, are you sure that’s a good idea, Jesse?” asked Soren. “I’m pretty sure the Admin would consider that cheating, and trust me, you don’t want her to get angry.”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Soren, we have to get that clock, at whatever cost,” protested Jesse.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Fine! But I still don’t like this plan Jesse.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse crafted the diamonds into a diamond pickaxe and proceeded to mine the wall up. Sure enough, Lluna was in the adjacent room. The room was tall and had red lighting. There were redstone circuits everywhere. To the right of them, they saw a tunnel that vaguely resembled the edges of the tunnels that Jesse saw Stella, Radar and Sammy disappear into.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>The tubes, they’re going up,” Lukas observed.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Then our friends went up, and that’s where we’re headed too,” answered Jesse.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Uh, hate to point out the obvious, but we can’t climb,” said Jack, before getting hit by a shulker bolt. “Oh no.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>More shulker bolts hit every single person inside the room, and they all began to float up.</span>
</p><hr/><p class="western">Author’s Notes: I think we all know what’s going to happen next chapter.</p><hr/><p class="western">Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</p><p class="western">More to follow.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Act II - Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Act II – Chapter 11</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</span>
</p>
<hr/><p class="western">“<span><em>The tubes, they’re going up,” Lukas observed.</em></span></p><p class="western">“<span><em>Then our friends went up, and that’s where we’re headed too,” answered Jesse.</em></span></p><p class="western">“<span><em>Uh, hate to point out the obvious, but we can’t climb,” said Jack, before getting hit by a shulker bolt. “Oh no.”</em></span></p><p class="western">
  <span>
    <em>More shulker bolts hit every single person inside the room, and they all began to float up.</em>
  </span>
</p>
<hr/><p class="western">
  <span>As they floated into the next room above them, Jesse heard the unmistakable noise of the clock’s ticking, echoing around the large room. This was it, they were almost there.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>There! We’re getting close!” Jesse pointed out.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Excellent,” Jack responded.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>We better hurry though, what if the Admin comes back and finds out we broke her stuff?” said Petra.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse did a double-take at that statement. </span>
  <span>Sh</span>
  <span>e didn’t think of that. What if she did find out they cheated? Things could get very ugly for them. Soren was right, this was a bad plan.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Yeah, there’s no telling how long we have before the Admin figures out what we’ve done,” Jack agreed.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>She’s going to be, like, really really mad,” Petra added.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse decided to act cool.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Petra, we’re done playing by her rules. Knowing her, she’d probably just change it up on us anyway,” said Jesse.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Yeah, yeah, I guess that’s true,” sighed Petra.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>They floated past a platform, where Stella and Radar were being held behind iron bar cells.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Hey, look!” Jesse gasped.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Ah, Jesse! Woohoohoo!” Radar exclaimed.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>I don’t see Sammy though,” Jack whispered.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Hold tight, we’re coming to save you!” Jesse called out.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>You better keep my llama safe. Especially from those,” Stella snapped.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Especially from-”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse saw what Stella was talking about, and immediately wished she hadn’t. It was an Ender-Creeper, the same type as from back at the Sea Temple.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Not these things again!” Soren groaned.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>It teleported towards Jesse and began to flash, exploding and knocking all of them to various platforms around the giant room.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Lluna!” Stella exclaimed.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Ugh! Man I hate those Ender-Creepers!” Petra groaned as she got up.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>You and me. You and me both,” agreed Jack.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Oh, thank goodness you’re al</span><span>r</span><span>ight sweetie!” Stella said.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Oh, man. That looked like it hurt! I thought you were really in trouble!” Radar added. “One minute, you were falling through the air, the next, BOOM!”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>C’mon, C’monnn,” Jesse yelled back. “I’ve had worse than that for breakfast!”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Sorry! This is all still pretty new to me!” Radar admitted.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Look, that wasn’t the last of the Ender-Creepers either,” Lukas said, pointing towards more of the foul things.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jack on the other hand was getting nervous. “And I still can’t see Sammy!”</span>
</p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse saw that Petra and Jack were closest to the clock.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>We’re gonna have to divide and conquer here, people,” Jesse said. “One of you go for the clock, one of you come with me and Lukas to rescue the others.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse looked at Petra.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Petra, I believe in you. Go for the clock,” said Jesse. “Jack, you come with us.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Petra closed her eyes and took a deep breath.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Okay. Okay,” She said nervously.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Hey, be careful up there,” Jack warned.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Right.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Petra began to move towards the clock.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Lluna? Sweetie?” Stella called out.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Lluna turned around and walked away.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Hehe, smart llama,” chuckled Lukas</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Lluna!” Stella snapped. Lluna ignored her. “But, but why?”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse, Jack, Soren and Lukas landed on the platform that Radar and Stella were on. No sign of Sammy around.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Jesse coming to my rescue, just like I dreamt it,” said Radar dreamily.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>You have got some weird dreams, Radar,” Jesse said.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Sorry! Still a little groggy from going through all those pipes. Pretend I didn’t say anything.”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Uh, Jesse?” Lukas called out.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>The Ender-Creepers were screeching at them.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Great, who altered their behavior?” Soren said. He froze at the looks of disbelief he got. “Hehehe, just kidding, although you better hurry.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>While Jack, Soren and Lukas engaged the Ender-Creepers, Jesse pulled out her pickaxe and mined the iron bars of the cell.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>C’mon, Radar. We gotta get you out, fast!” said Jesse as she mined the iron bars. Once he mined the hole big enough, Radar stepped out. Lukas, Soren and Jack had finished dispatching the Ender-Creepers.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Okay, I got a feeling they won’t be gone for long,” said Lukas.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Ahem, Jesse. Hello?” Stella said, getting Jesse’s attention.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Stella,” greeted Jesse.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>I could’ve found that clock, obviously. But there was some signage that was very confusing, and well, I, you know, wound up here,” Stella recounted. “Kept hoping the Admin would drop by so I could explain the confusion. But when we do talk, you better believe that she’s going to realize that I am the perfect partner for her.”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Stuck-up little princess,” whispered Soren.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Stella, would you please just stop talking already?” Jesse groaned, getting tired of her annoying voice.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Fine, enough chit chat. How about you get me on outta here?” Stella suggested.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Really?” Jack deadpanned.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Okay, fine. Just… don’t make me regret it, all right?” Jesse conceded, before mining Stella’s cell open.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Knew you would. Our fates are intertwined, after all. Who are either of us without the other?” Stella said as Jesse opened her cell.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Meanwhile, Petra had gotten herself up the spire and up to the clock.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Nice work, Petra!” Jesse appraised. “Come on, guys. Let’s go give her a hand!”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse used the diamond pickaxe to mine the obsidian platform, and then used it to build a staircase up to the platform right underneath the clock, as they reached the platform, a huge stream of sunlight rained down over the entire chamber, illuminating all of the inactive redstone wiring within the walls. Looking up, Jesse saw that they were at the very top of the giant tower. This was it. They had won.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Amazing,” gawked Radar.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Petra pulled out her sword and stabbed it into the clock and jumped off, causing the clock to explode.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Look at that! You did it!” Jesse exclaimed.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Yeah, I guess I did, huh?”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Awesome job. I’m so proud of you.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse and Petra embraced in a hug.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Uh, help. Crushing… lungs,” Petra gasped.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Ahem! Not to interrupt all the celebrating, but escaping?” Lukas pointed out.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Yeah, I’d rather not be around when </span><span><em>she</em></span><span> gets back,” said Soren.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>I can’t leave without Sammy,” protested Jack.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Go ahead guys! We’ll catch up!” Jesse instructed.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Just, hurry, okay? I don’t like worrying about you,” Lukas said.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Radar and Lukas moved off, climbing down the outside of the tower. Stella turned around and looked at them.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>What’s your angle? Waiting around for the Admin?” Stella questioned.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>I need to find her,” Jack insisted.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Don’t worry, Jack. I’m gonna help you,” Jesse reassured.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Me too.” Petra said.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Thank you.”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Well, well, well,” Sammy’s voice said. “Isn’t this surprising?”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Sammy?!” gasped Jack.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>I should’ve known it wouldn’t quite happen the I wanted it to go,” she continued. “Too good to be true.”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>I, how did you get here, Sammy?” Jack asked.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>I don’t like this,” whispered Soren.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Sammy rolled her head before turning to look at Jesse.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Either way, it doesn’t really matter. I got what I wanted,” Sammy finished, ignoring Jack altogether. “But </span><span>I </span><span>still don’t understand your motives for helping Soren like that, Jesse. </span><span>It’s obvious that he’s useless. </span><span>But that’s not the real issue. The real issue is </span><span><em>you</em></span><span>, Jesse.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Sammy turned her gaze directly towards Jesse. Jesse was feeling unnerved by Sammy’s cold tone.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Sammy, friend. What are you doing? Jack asked, trembling. “Why are you saying these things?”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>You are really freaking me out right now, Sammy,” said Jesse.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Am I now?” ‘Sammy’ responded, giving a sinister chuckle. “Good. You should be scared, </span><span><em>Jesse</em></span><span>.”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>W-What?” stammered Jack.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Wow, you really are thick, aren’t you?” ‘Sammy’ </span><span>spat</span><span>. “I’ve made it so obvious, and yet you still haven’t figured it out? No matter.”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Oh no,” whispered Soren.</span></p><p class="western">‘<span>Sammy’ began to step forward, creating a huge tremor with her footstep. Her entire body began to glow purple-white as she began to float. Jesse had to close her eyes from the bright light. A huge shockwave of power came from her direction and the light abruptly faded. Jesse opened her eyes slowly.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>No, no, no!” exclaimed Soren, horror within his voice.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>The only problem was, this was no longer Sammy. Jesse gasped in horror as she saw the familiar vibrant magenta hair, purple suit with glowing yellow gems, and yellow skin. </span>
  <span>It was the Admin. Sammy was the Admin the</span>
  <span> whole time. Jesse felt the urge to throw up.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>She’s the Admin,” Jesse whispered.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Oh, would you look at that? They finally figured it out,” The Admin taunted, rolling her glowing pink eyes. “Of course I am!”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Sammy… the whole time?”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>The Admin burst into another high-pitched laughter, which echoed around the giant room.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>But, I…. no,” Jack sobbed.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Jesse felt white-hot anger surge through her body. How dare she?</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Aww, is itty bitty </span><span>w</span><span>ittle Jack upset that </span><span>his</span><span><em> f</em></span><span><em>w</em></span><span><em>iend</em></span> <span>was actually the Admin?” She taunted, </span><span>adopting her baby-voice and </span><span>making fake-crying sounds before bursting into laughter again. Soren looked ready to commit murder. “But guess what, Jesse? You just proved my suspicions. You are not to be trusted.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>The Admin approached Jesse.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Mind explaining to me why there’s a big human sized hole inside the wall of one of my challenges? Hmm?”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>I-” Jesse began, but was unable to find the words to complete her statement.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Yeah, that’s what I thought,” said the Admin. “So, we’re in an extremely difficult challenge room, and this is where we separate a proper human being, from a LIAR AND A CHEAT!”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>The Admin approached Jesse and got so close to her ear, she could </span>
  <span>feel </span>
  <span>her hot breath on her. It stunk of rotten flesh, and made her want to empty the contents of her stomach.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>I knew I should’ve dealt with you when you took that Structure Block FROM MY END CITY!” screamed the Admin, almost bursting Jesse’s eardrum.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Ah, excuse me? Admin, ma’am?” Stella waved, stepping in-front of the Admin and Jesse. “I just wanted to say that </span><span>I support you completely</span><span>.”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Oh, really?” The Admin questioned.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Yes, really. I believe that with my organizational, managerial, and leadership skills, I could be an excellent addition to, ah, whatever your infrastructure is.” Stella said.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>The Admin thought for a moment, before nodding.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>I’ll keep that in mind.” The Admin said. </span></p><p class="western">“<span>Ugh… yeah, you two belong together all right,” growled Jesse. “Just a couple of selfish wackos.”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>I’ll take that as a compliment. Jesse, I really appreciate you saving me, love ya, mean it,” said Stella. “But you obviously don’t understand the magnitude of what this, this paragon </span><span>is obviously capable of.</span><span>”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>The Admin nodded in agreement. “She does have a point.”</span>
</p><p class="western">
  <span>The Admin approached her again.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>You didn’t honestly think I’d let you get away with stealing from me, did you?” she asked, her voice cold. “Since you will not be seeing Beacontown ever again, Let me just say, you were never meant to save the world at all. Oh, but what’s that? You’re probably wondering what that second item I’m talking about is, right?”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>The Admin chuckled.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>You see, sitting in your filthy disgusting treasure room, is a rather valuable Redstone Heart of mine--”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>Soren gasped.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>--which I’d like back, but with you in the picture, things could get complicated. So I built this place as a distraction, to play with you for a bit, before I remove you completely.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>The Admin got right into Jesse’s face, so that the only thing she could see was her glowing pink eyes. And then out of nowhere, the Admin pulled her head back, and headbutted Jesse.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Ow!”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Awww? Did that hurt? I bet it did,” she taunted. Her headbutt force was so strong, that Jesse was surprised it didn’t </span><span>knock her out cold</span><span>. She did feel her nose fracture however, as severe pain shot up through the bridge of it. “</span><span>Perhaps you’ll think twice before stealing from me again,</span><span> not that you’ll get the chance though.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>As the Admin laughed her head off, she raised her arm, and Jesse found herself weightless. He, Jack, Soren and Petra flew 50 feet into the air. Looking down, Jesse saw the Admin float up to them.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>One last thing,” she said, maneuvering Jack and Petra away from Jesse and Soren. “You’re not going to be staying with those pathetic low-lives you call </span><span><em>friends</em></span><span>.</span><span>”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>The Admin clapped her hands.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>What are you doing? No!” Petra pleaded.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>And they both disappeared.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Petra! Jack! Where did they go?” Jesse growled.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>Where they went, is of no concern to a pathetic cheating low-life like you,” The Admin responded.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>No!” whispered Soren.</span></p><p class="western">“<span>The only cheater I see here... is you,” Jesse quipped.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>The Admin flinched back dramatically</span>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Oh, you wound me, Jesse. M</span><span>iss</span><span>. Tough Woman here thinks threats will affect me.”</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>She turned around.</span>
</p><p class="western">“<span>Well, I had fun playing with you, but I’m done now. Now, be a good little girl, and do as you’re told from now on. Goodbye.”</span></p><p class="western">“<span>NO!” Jesse pleaded.</span></p><p class="western">
  <span>The Admin laughed before clapping her hands and Jesse felt herself spinning and falling through a void of colors. The last thing she heard before she collapsed was Soren screaming her name.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p class="western">
  <span>End of Act II</span>
</p>
<hr/><p class="western">
  <span>Author’s Notes: Yup, the Redstone Heart was the other item that the Admin claims belongs to her.</span>
</p><p class="western">
  <span>Act III might be a while, as there are a few things happening in life at the moment. I will not be abandoning this however. No way, I will not abandon this again.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p class="western">
  <span>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</span>
</p><p class="western">
  <span>Until next time.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Act III - Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Act III – Chapter 12</p><hr/><p>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</p><hr/><p>
  <em>The world can be a very scary place. Villains can be larger than life, and almost impossible to defeat. The stress of saving the world can turn even the best of friends against each other; and not everyone will be on your side.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Some will try to take advantage of your kindness, but a true hero will know exactly what to do and will inspire others to do the same. But the scariest thing of all, even for the bravest hero?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Is discovering the villain, is much closer than you think…</em>
</p><hr/><p>Pain… everywhere! That was the feeling that first raced through Jesse’s body as she slowly regained consciousness. It felt like she had just fallen about a hundred feet. As she slowly maneuvered her way up into a sitting position, a sharp pain in her nose almost caused her to slip and fall on her back.</p><p>Looking around, she saw lava-filled obsidian walls everywhere, and the roof was made entirely out of… bedrock? So was the ground.</p><p>And she even noticed the clothes that she herself was now wearing. Instead of the Dragonsbane armor like she was expecting, she was now wearing a white tank-top, beige shoes and orange prisoner pants. That was when everything rushed back to her.</p><p>‘Sammy’ revealing herself to be the Admin, Petra and Jack being taken away, and the Admin headbutting Jesse, which was the cause of the pain in her broken nose.</p><p>“What the heck is this?” she asked upon noticing her inventory was empty too. “Um… where’s my stuff?”</p><p>Jesse immediately felt stupid. Of course the Admin would take it all off of her.</p><p>“I hope Petra and Jack are okay,” she said as she finally stood up. “I gotta get back, find the Admin. Find my friends!”</p><p class="western">As Jesse began to walk forward, she noticed that part of the ground she was standing on was also bedrock.</p><p class="western">“Bedrock?” she gasped. “The Admin said, ‘I won’t be seeing Beacontown ever again.’”</p><p class="western">Looks like that statement might be true, since nothing can break bedrock.</p><p class="western">“What is this place?”</p><p class="western">Jesse approached a wall.</p><p class="western">“So, Jesse? How was your day?” she asked herself. “Oh it was great, met a purple, yellow, glow-y… all-powerful crazy person who trapped me in a near-indestructible cage.”</p><p class="western">Jesse facepalmed at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. She continued on, eventually arriving at a pair of huge gates made out of iron blocks. The words ‘Ironguard Detention Facility’ were carved into signs on the top of the door frame. Behind the gates, was the exterior of a giant building, that stretched up, as high as the bedrock ceiling.</p><p class="western">The gates suddenly opened, and a tough looking golem with purple glowing lines on it landed behind Jesse. She took off, through the gates, only to trip and land on her back in-front of a bald guy.</p><p class="western">“Oh, don’t mind him,” He said. “He’s just here to make sure all inmates behave themselves.”</p><p class="western">Bald Guy pulled out a book.</p><p class="western">“Let’s see, let’s see, let’s see.”</p><p class="western">Bald Guy read through a book before stopping on a name.</p><p class="western">“Oh, yes. Jesse,” he read out. “Welcome to the Ironguard Detention Facility.”</p><p class="western">Bald Guy led Jesse through the front door and down a hallway to the left.</p><p class="western">“It’s a place for the people that the Admin has found troublesome,” Bald Guy said. “I’ll be your Warden.”</p><p class="western">“So the Admin created this nuthut, too, huh?” Jesse answered.</p><p class="western">“Of course. The Admin is an endless source of building brilliance,” the Warden answered. “Including this holding facility for high-risk prisoners that she has determined to be… dangerous.”</p><p class="western">“So… it’s a prison,” Jesse concluded.</p><p class="western">“Yes,” said the Warden. “This place is a prison, and you are the newest inmate captured by the Admin.”</p><p class="western">“You know she’s not… here right now, right?” Jesse pointed out.</p><p class="western">“You never know,” the Warden answered, glancing at a poster of the Admin as they continued walking down the prison hallway. “She can appear anywhere, anytime.”</p><p class="western">“What about my friends?” Jesse asked. “I need to get back, the Admin kidnapped my friends and I have no idea what she’s making them do. I need to get back and stop her.”</p><p class="western">“Yeah, I’m afraid you have no choice in the matter, Jesse,” said the Warden. “Once she sends you down here, you are here for life. No-one ever leaves the Ironguard Detention Facility, except for her. It’s how she makes sure that no... <em>loose ends </em>will cause problems for her in the future.”</p><p class="western">“Yeah, you have zero idea what you’re saying, Warden,” quipped Jesse. “She is nothing but a power-mad sadist.”</p><p class="western">“Mind that attitude, Jesse. And if your friends are anything like you, they’ll be on their way down here right next to you, I’m sure.”</p><p class="western">They stopped right next to the entrance to the cell wing. The sign marked it as ‘Cell Block Echo’. The Warden pulled out his manifest.</p><p class="western">“Now hang on a tick,” he said. “I have, <em>another</em> inmate on my manifest. Male, eccentric personality, hair is described as <em>ginger</em>...”</p><p class="western">Jesse heard a grunt and looked up on the catwalks in the following cell wing to see Soren’s face pop out. He waved at Jesse, who waved back. Boy was she glad to see him.</p><p class="western">“Distract him,” he mouthed.</p><p class="western">“Known leader of the original ‘Order of the Stone’,” continued the Warden. “Strange obsession with Endermen...”</p><p class="western">“Yeah, that’s Soren,” distracted Jesse.</p><p class="western">Immediately, Soren jumped down from the catwalks above, and charged into the Warden, knocking him over. Jesse saw that he was no longer wearing his armor, and was now wearing a full prisoner jumpsuit.</p><p class="western">“Jesse! Man, am I glad to see you here! This place...” he started.</p><p class="western">“I know, let’s get out of here!” finished Jesse as she and Soren ran back through the hallway to the door that led outside.</p><p class="western">“Wait, you can’t… it’s too dangerous!!!” the Warden cried out. “STOP THEM! GUARDS!!!”</p><p class="western">Jesse and Soren burst through the door, quickly hiding around the corner.</p><p class="western">“WHAT, A, BIG, FAT, MESS WE’RE IN! ARGH!” screamed Soren. “And all because I didn’t see that Jack’s friend, Sammy was actually the admin! How could I have let her get the jump on us like that!? ARGH!”</p><p class="western">Jesse gave him a tap on the back. “Hey, the Admin fooled everyone. Not just you.”</p><p class="western">“But I should’ve known better than to trust… ugh!” growled Soren. “And now that sadistic piece of work has your friends, no idea what she’s going to do to them! Jesse, I really don’t know how we’re going to get out of this one.”</p><p class="western">“HEY! SOUND THE ALARM!” A guard shouted, spotting Jesse and Soren. A siren blared almost instantly, as two guards burst through the front door.</p><p class="western">“We don’t stand a chance without weapons,” Soren observed.</p><p class="western">“Then we run,” said Jesse.</p><p class="western">“Where?”</p><p class="western">“Wherever they aren’t!”</p><p class="western">“Where’s Gabriel when you need him?!”</p><p class="western">Jesse and Soren took off into the obsidian labyrinth, the guards hot on their tail.</p><p class="western">“Stop them!” The Warden’s voice rang out. “Don’t let them reach the Burrows!”</p><p class="western">Two Prison Golems, as Jesse is going to call them, jumped down in-front of them, blocking their path. Jesse, having been in this type of situation before, namely with Sky City, dropped down on her stomach and slid right underneath them. As they crashed into each other, Soren quickly side-stepped around them.</p><p class="western">Fighting themselves off each other, the Prison Golems noticed their targets getting ahead of them, and one of them slammed their arms down in frustration as they moved after them.</p><p class="western">Jesse, seeing that their pursuers were gaining ground on them, gave a scream and tried to run faster. As they turned the corner, Jesse saw a place they could quickly duck into and hide, and so she took it. Soren doing the same.</p><p class="western">A golem stopped and peered inside for a moment. Jesse held her breath. After what seemed like an eternity, but was really only a few seconds, the golem decided that there was no-one there, and continued on. Great, they lost them, for now.</p><p class="western">Making sure the coast was clear, they raced out of the alcove and back the way they came.</p><p class="western">“Okay, we’ve got to figure out where we are,” said Jesse. She heard the sounds of what appeared to be spiders, and looked ahead. “What is that?”</p><p class="western">Sure enough, spiders were right in-front of them. One dropped down right in-front of them, preparing to charge.</p><p class="western">“Whoa!” Jesse, using her quick reflexes, quickly ducked as the spider went sailing over them. She looked ahead and stopped, for there were more monsters ahead. Ender-Zombies, only this horde was wearing prisoner jumpsuits.</p><p class="western">“Ugh!” groaned Soren.</p><p class="western">Jesse looked behind her, to see the spiders catching up with them. Jesse took off into a sprint, using her momentum to jump along the wall and step right over the Ender-Zombies.</p><p class="western">“This thing is… endless!” She groaned. Not hearing a response, she stopped and looked over her shoulder. Jack was nowhere to be found. “Soren? Soren?!”</p><p class="western">“Jesse! Where are you?!” Soren’s voice echoed. Jesse spun around and back-traced her steps. Looking ahead, she saw Soren having trouble with a few Ender-Zombies, who had both of his arms. Raising her fist, she brought it crashing right into the zombie’s head, knocking it down. Soren used his now freed hand to hit the other zombie. “Ow! Those things really are quite tough!”</p><p class="western">Continuing on, they ran right into a dead-end.</p><p class="western">“Yeah, maybe not this way.”</p><p class="western">Turning around, Jesse and Soren reached a corridor, with what appeared to be large glowing purple creepers with spider legs on the obsidian wall. A Spider-Creeper?</p><p class="western">“This is getting old real fast, Admin!” said Soren, having heard Jesse voice her thoughts aloud.</p><p class="western">“That is unsettling.”</p><p class="western">They tried to continue on, only to run into another Ender-Zombie horde. “Of course, why would there only be one? There’s never just one. Oh no, oh no, oh no!”</p><p class="western">Jesse felt a tug of her arm, Soren having dragged her to safety as the creepers started to flash, before exploding, leaving a huge hole in the wall, which Soren and Jesse used to get through to the other side.</p><p class="western">As they came out, Jesse heard the crying sounds of a ghast? Wait, a ghast? They weren’t in the nether, were they?</p><p class="western">Looking to her right, sure enough was a ghast, ready to charge a fireball at them.</p><p class="western">“Oh boy… incoming!” Jesse and Soren managed to get themselves out of the blast area just in time, but Jesse didn’t stop. She was not going to stop until she found a way out of this seemingly infinite labyrinth. They found themselves in a corridor full of what appeared to be glowing purple Ender-Slimes.</p><p class="western">“This is getting bonkers,” she commented as she broke off into a run, jumping on the smallest one at the front, bouncing off each one of them towards the other side.</p><p class="western">“That looks fun!” said Soren as he too, jumped on the slimes toward the other side.</p><p class="western">Only to get ambushed by another horde of Spider-Creepers. Jesse kicked her feet out and dived straight into one of them, sending it flying right into the wall opposite, exploding at the same time, not only killing the rest of the spider-creepers, but leaving a staircase shaped crater in the obsidian wall.</p><p class="western">“Jesse, look!” observed Soren. “Just like in Ivor’s maze, we can get to the top!”</p><p class="western">And so they did, only to find that this maze did indeed go on forever, with no end or exit in sight. Hundreds of ghasts were floating over the top of the giant maze. This… was hopeless.</p><p class="western">“Oh crud,” whispered Jesse.</p><p class="western">“’Oh crud’, indeed, Jesse!” a familiar auto-tuned female voice responded.</p><p class="western">Right next to them, stood the Admin, with a vicious grin on her face.</p><p class="western">“Going somewhere?”</p><p class="western">Without waiting for a response, she knocked both Soren and Jesse out.</p><hr/><p class="western">Jesse was woken up hard as she found herself face-down on rough dirt. She groggily looked up, to see the Admin drop Soren next to her.</p><p class="western">“Five minutes and already apprehended in an escape attempt?” questioned the Warden from right behind them. “That is just… that is just rude!”</p><p class="western">The Warden glanced over to a golem that was standing next to him.</p><p class="western">“Take them, to Cell Block Al-” he started, only to be interrupted by the Admin.</p><p class="western">“Not this one,” said the Admin, pointing to Jesse. “She belongs in maximum security, with <em>him</em>.”</p><p class="western">The Admin held her hand out, and grabbed Jesse with telekinesis. Jesse felt herself float up once more. She took one last glance at Soren, who gave her an apologetic look before she was teleported away.</p><p class="western">Immediately, Jesse found herself standing in what appeared to be a cell made of obsidian walls, an obsidian ceiling and a bedrock floor. Next to her, was the Admin.</p><p class="western">“I warned you,” she said, her demeanor completely serious. “I told you to be a good girl, and within five minutes, you foolishly tried to escape. And quite frankly, I don’t take kindly to escapees. Add that along with your previous crimes, and you get to spend a grand total of life-imprisonment in Cell Block Tango, the highest security ward in the Ironguard Detention Facility!”</p><p class="western">She said that all as though she was announcing some kind of big game prize.</p><p class="western">“Oh, and I hope you’ll like the new outfit that you’ll be wearing,” she said, before waving a hand. At once, she felt her arms wrap around themselves, suddenly bound to her chest and something appear over her mouth, clamping her jaw shut.</p><p class="western">The Admin had just put her in a straitjacket and a muzzle. She tried to scream in protest, but all that came out was a muffled vocalizing sound.</p><p class="western">“Having trouble speaking, Jesse?” taunted the Admin, chuckling slightly. “Well, for your sake, I’d get used to moving around without the support of your arms, since from now on, they’re virtually useless.”</p><p class="western">She turned around.</p><p class="western">“As much as I’d love to stay and chat, I’m afraid I do have things to attend to,” she said. “One last thing, try to escape again, and… well. Let’s just say that it’ll result in… <em>unpleasantness</em>. Ciao!”</p><p class="western">The Admin vanished, leaving behind a trail of purple Ender-Particles, along with a bound and gagged Jesse, who simply sat down on the rough bed in defeat.</p><hr/><p class="western">Soren saw the Admin take Jesse away, and he knew straight away that wherever she took her was bound to be no place good. Where was he going to end up?</p><p class="western">“Change of plans, we’re taking this other one to my office,” said the Warden to one of the golems, who nodded and gave Soren a swift kick. Soren sighed and resigned himself to following the Warden back into the giant prison. No use continuing to rebel against them.</p><p class="western">Eventually, after going through a bunch of twisting and turning hallways, they reached his office, where Soren was shoved into by the golem.</p><p class="western">“Close the door, would you?”</p><p class="western">Soren looked at the lever next to the door where he walked in.</p><p class="western">“Do as you’re told,” demanded the Warden.</p><p class="western">“Okay,” said Soren as he obeyed and shut the door.</p><p class="western">“Obedient. Good,” said the Warden, nodding with approval. “You and your ‘Order of the Stone’ may have hope yet...”</p><p class="western">“Wait, what?” questioned Soren, suddenly alert. Was his old friends here too?</p><p class="western">“Oh! Let me show you,” said the Warden, gesturing for Soren to follow. Soren looked out of the window to a cell block below, and saw…</p><p class="western">“Magnus! Gabriel!” identified Soren, seeing the two being dragged into a cell-block by a golem. They both were wearing orange prisoner jumpsuits, similar to his own, although Magnus was still wearing his griefer bandit mask.</p><p class="western">“Did you really think the Admin would go on without removing any loose ends?” the Warden asked rhetorically. “No. At the Ironguard Detention Facility, there are two types of prisoners. People who anger, annoy, and intrude too much into the Admin’s affairs, such as you and your friend in maximum security.”</p><p class="western">Soren saw Gabriel and Magnus disappear into a cell block named ‘Cell Block Bravo’</p><p class="western">“Annnd there are people who the Admin sends to make sure there are no loose-ends left,” the Warden explained. “Your dark-skinned friend did put up quite a bit of resistance against the guards, but the golems contained him quickly enough. And to go straight to Cell Block Bravo rather than Delta?”</p><p class="western">Soren turned around and glared at the Warden, staring right into his eye. (The other was covered by a monocle-like device)</p><p class="western">“If you know what’s good for you, Warden, you’ll let them go,” he threatened.</p><p class="western">“Oh, I’m sorry but ‘threats’ definitely fall under the category of ‘not well-behaved,’” the Warden shot back.</p><p class="western">He turned to the door.</p><p class="western">“Bring up the griefer, would you? Bandit mask? Looks similar to me?”</p><p class="western">A golem nodded before exiting the room.</p><p class="western">“Funny story, when I first got here, I was actually part of the second group. An old friend of mine discovered a compromising secret about the Admin, and she had all of us sent down here,” the Warden admitted. “You know, to remove witnesses. We were just a crazy bunch of griefers back then, like your friend. Simpler times.”</p><p class="western">He rubbed the top of a TNT block.</p><p class="western">“LET GO OF ME RIGHT NOW!” A loud voice demanded, coming from outside the door. The door opened to reveal Magnus, who was immediately shoved inside.</p><p class="western">“Soren!” he exclaimed, eyes widening. “You’re here too!”</p><p class="western">Magnus nodded as the Warden shook his head. He flipped a lever, to reveal another machine.</p><p class="western">“Meet ‘<em>The Iron Breathtaker,’</em>” introduced the Warden. “Iron bars to hold the victim in place below, sticky piston above to shove an iron block down over their head.”</p><p class="western">Magnus, with a look of loathing on his face, raised his fist and connected it straight with the Warden’s face with a cry, knocking him to the ground.</p><p class="western">“ARGH!”</p><p class="western">Magnus stared at him with a smug expression.</p><p class="western">“That… <em>most definitely...</em> f-falls under the category of… <em>not</em> well-behaved,” coughed the Warden as he straightened the gold instrument over his eye, which had been knocked loose by Magnus’ punch. Briefly, Soren saw that what was meant to be his left eye was the remains of a severe eye injury. Was he blind in that eye? Soren grinned like a maniac, seeing the Warden get taken down a notch like that. The Warden however, looked completely livid. “Put him in!”</p><p class="western">The golem grabbed Magnus and dropped him in the holding cell. His face continuing to glare at the Warden. It looks to Soren that Magnus has taken an instant dislike to the Warden, which he understood. He didn’t like this guy either.</p><p class="western">“Now, I said before that you could follow in my footsteps,” said the Warden. Soren wasn’t sure if his memory was going funny or not, but he did not remember him suggesting anything of the sort. “That could start now.”</p><p class="western">The Warden pointed towards an armor stand, where a guard’s uniform was placed. “Ready to improve that pesky bad behavior of yours and join the good guys? Work for me as a guard and bring order to these poor, chaotic individuals.”</p><p class="western">“Don’t even think about it, Soren!” warned Magnus. The Warden, in response, activated the Iron Breathtaker, shoving the iron block over Magnus’ head. He heard him start to choke, slowly suffocating.</p><p class="western">“What’s it gonna be?” asked the Warden.</p><p class="western">Soren was conflicted. Magnus had just asked him not to do it, and here he was suffocating. Soren really didn’t want to lose any more of his friends, Ellegaard was already enough, but yet he also wanted to tell the Warden to go to the End and jump into the void. Hearing Magnus continue to choke, he made her decision.</p><p class="western">“Okay, okay!” he pleaded. “I’ll do whatever you want!”</p><p class="western">“Aw… that’s so great to hear,” and the Warden released the iron block. Soren heard Magnus gasp for breath. As the Warden moved to grab him, he stood up and spat in his face. “Oof, still disobedient I see. Well, good news for you, your <em>friend,</em> AKA our newest guard will be escorting you out.”</p><p class="western">“Soren, why!?” exclaimed Magnus, giving Soren a glare. “Why would you give in like that?”</p><p class="western">“Hey, don’t look at me like that! I did this for you!” pleaded Soren. “I’m trying to protect you!”</p><p class="western">“But… no, Soren! This isn’t right!”</p><p class="western">“Well, well, well.” A familiar unpleasant voice started speaking. Soren looked over and saw Stella walking in, wearing the same uniform as himself.</p><p class="western">“Oh not you!” groaned Soren.</p><p class="western">“While I appreciate your friend for letting me out of that iron cell, I can’t let that disrupt the new, professional relationship we have now, okay? I’m sure you understand,” Stella said. Soren rolled his eyes. “I knew a day of reckoning would come for a known liar.”</p><p class="western">“Oh, you two know each other?” the Warden asked.</p><p class="western">“Oh yes. This guy is known as the leader of the <em>original</em> Order of the Stone,” answered Stella. “And no, they’re not as great as you might think.”</p><p class="western">“This place really suits you, Stella,” said Soren. “It’s cruel, uncomfortable and I’d rather be back in <em>Hyl</em> or whatever that place was.”</p><p class="western">Magnus snickered.</p><p class="western">“Says the guy who literally lied to the entire world about the Ender-Dragon,” Stella responded. “Watch out for this one, Warden. He’s known to be deceitful if you don’t keep an eye on him.”</p><p class="western">“Watch it, blonde stuff,” growled Magnus.</p><p class="western">Stella approached Magnus.</p><p class="western">“Oh, I recognize you, you’re the bald hot-head who co-leads that cesspit of a town alongside the big guy!” Stella recognized. “What kind of a name is Boom Town anyway? Don’t be like this guy here, be like me. I’m a shining example of success. I’ve barely arrived and I’m already bossing you two around, isn’t it grand? Let’s go, Soren.”</p><p class="western">The Warden grabbed Soren’s hand, holding him back.</p><p class="western">“Stella’s right,” He said. “Commitment and loyalty to the Admin’s cause are cornerstones around here. Continuing to rebel against the Admin isn’t going to get you very far in this place. So maybe readjust your concerns.”</p><p class="western">“Have you always been like this?” questioned Soren.</p><p class="western">“Always? No,” the Warden admitted.</p><p class="western">“Traitor,” snarled Magnus.</p><p class="western">“What are you hiding, Warden?”</p><p class="western">“Not every prisoner here wears orange, Soren,” he said.</p><p class="western">“Let’s go, Soren!” called Stella.</p><p class="western">“That’s right,” agreed the Warden. “You two are going to go to Cell Block Bravo!”</p><p class="western">“Exactly what I was going to suggest! I’ll have your job before you know it, Warden,” Stella responded.</p><p class="western">“Be careful what you wish for, Stella,” said the Warden as the doors snapped shut behind them.</p><hr/><p class="western">Author’s Notes: As I said in the old version, the Ironguard Detention Facility is a lot more open to being a prison than the Sunshine Institute is.</p><p class="western">So, Jesse’s locked up in maximum security, and it seems the rest of the Old Order barring Ellegaard (dead) and Ivor are there too.</p><p class="western">For this Act, and probably Act IV as well, I’ve moved the update day from Friday to Thursday.</p><hr/><p class="western">Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up something else.</p><p class="western">More to follow.</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Act III - Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Act III – Chapter 13</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</span>
</p><hr/><p><a id="docs-internal-guid-069c8b88-7fff-3741-3a" name="docs-internal-guid-069c8b88-7fff-3741-3a"></a> The group of three continued on until they reached another cell block, this one named ‘Cell Block Bravo’.</p><p>Soren saw Jesse’s intern, (Radar, was it?) having already been placed into a cell nearby, with Gabriel further down. Seeing the vacant cell in-front of him, he knew what he had to do.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” he whispered as he gestured for Magnus to step into the vacant cell. He gave him an apologetic look as the iron bars automatically closed.</p><p>“Ta ta, Soren,” said Stella. “I’ll be at my post supervising a more impressive cell block. Don’t be too jealous, or do. I wouldn’t blame you.”</p><p>She turned around and walked back through the exit and disappeared, Soren shook his head before taking his post.</p><p>Much as he hated standing around doing nothing while Jesse was locked up who knows where, until he can work something out, he knew he needed to law low and stay off the grid, and that means doing whatever they tell him to. Even if it went against his morals.</p><p>The next few hours were uneventful, and Soren used this time to think. Not only about the current predicament, but also about the past too. He had spent all those years hiding in the end, hoping that the Admin would never think to search in the very dimension that she resided in, and those years of hiding were put in extreme jeopardy when Jesse found him.</p><p>He knows full well that he was considered a coward for what he did with the Wither-Storm, running away from it in a time of need. But what the others didn’t know, not even his old friends, was that he did not do it to save himself. The real reason for doing what he did back then were exactly the same as why he disbanded the Order of the Stone in the first place; to remove any risk of being found-out by the Admin.</p><p>When he saw the massive damage that it had caused, he knew for a fact that the destruction of the Wither-Storm was not something that the Admin was going to ignore. And he was already trying to avoid her enough as it is.</p><p>He knew that if the Admin recognized him, not only would he be as good as dead, but she would also know straight away about the leak that she had left when disposing of the old world, and he was not about to doom any possible future left of the people stuck down in the old world just for some renewed fame.</p><p>With that knowledge in his head, he did what others would call cowardly and fled the scene. He knew full-well the bad reputation that he would gain from doing so, but he didn’t care. As long as the Admin didn’t find out he was up here, he would be content.</p><p>But then Jesse seeked him out again, and he’ll never forget the shock he received when she mentioned the Admin and the End City. He wanted to tell her that he couldn’t help them, but he knew that they were walking straight into danger unlike anything they’ve ever faced, and immediately he made the decision to join Jesse on this next adventure.</p><p>But of course he had to get careless, and now the Admin knows he is alive, which meant...</p><p>Soren let out a gasp as he suddenly realized what it meant. The Admin now had a reason to suspect that she hadn’t sealed the old world properly, which meant that years of hiding had just gone down the drain, all because he wasn’t willing to let a few people walk to their deaths. How could he have just wasted all that time spent in hiding like that? Too late now, the ocelot has already been let out of the bag.</p><p>Speaking of the Admin, Soren couldn’t help but wonder just what the Admin was doing that required her to remove Jesse from Beacontown. He knew that it was nothing good, and he had a strong feeling that it had something to do with Beacontown and a device that he studied closely in the past, which was the Redstone Heart, hence why the Admin wanted Jesse out of the way. But wait, how did Jesse even get possession of that thing anyway? He was sure that he left it with that group of builders before he left.</p><p>Soren felt a burst of anger explode inside him nonetheless, as he knew full well just what that heart was capable of should it fall in the wrong hands, and knowing that there was quite possibly nothing he could do to stop her. She was practically an omnipotent god, while he was just a normal human, like everybody else.</p><p>Soren really hoped that one of the prisoners in this place knew how to escape, because there was no way in hell that he would be expected to sit around while the Admin turns the whole world into her personal playground.</p><p>And Jesse... Thinking about her made Soren think about Beacontown, and all those scared people back there that were counting on her, and she wouldn’t be able to help them now, not after being locked up in maximum security. Soren gazed over towards the window which revealed the Warden’s office above them. He saw that the Warden was sitting down and doing paperwork.</p><p>As Soren felt himself begin to nod off to sleep, he heard Radar groaning in his cell, which woke him back up. He moved towards his cell to ask what was going on.</p><p>“Radar? You okay?” Soren asked.</p><p>“Wish I was. I need something to eat, get my strength back,” said Radar, groaning slightly.</p><p>Soren took a look around and spotted a dark-skinned guard on the other side of the Cell Block, eating a cookie.</p><p>“Well, sit tight. I’m gonna go see what I can do,” Soren said before walking towards the dark-skinned guard. “Uh, hello?”</p><p>The guard paused and looked up at Soren.</p><p>“Listen, you don’t perhaps have any more of those cookies, do you?” Soren asked.</p><p>“Why do you ask?” The guard questioned.</p><p>Soren knew that he couldn’t just tell the guard that Radar needed some food, so he did a bit of improvisation.</p><p>“When I first got here, I didn’t exactly receive any food. And I’m actually kinda hungry,” he said, lying about the hungry part.</p><p>The guard sighed.</p><p>“Okay, since you’re new here, I’ll explain. The guards are supposed to get their food from food supply chests before they go on duty to patrol each cell block. Luckily, I have one more cookie to spare.”</p><p>He reached into his pocket and passed it to Soren.</p><p>“Perfect! Thanks.” Soren responded. “Out of curiosity, do the prisoners even get food at all?”</p><p>“Yup, they do. But only at designated times of the day. They just had their last food break for the day an hour ago,” he answered.</p><p>Yeah, making Radar wait until the next food break? Not gonna happen. Soren turned around and slowly approached Radar’s cell, making sure to not act suspicious. Looking behind him to make sure the guard wasn’t looking, Soren quickly pulled out his cookie and handed it to Radar through the iron bars. But Radar wasn’t the only one who saw what Soren was doing. As Radar took the cookie and ate it, Soren saw a dark-skinned prisoner, with a large mole on his face, glaring at him with contempt.</p><p>The shift passed by rather uneventfully, except for the prisoner who had spent the whole time glaring holes at Soren. If looks could kill…</p><p>Soren also caught up with Gabriel too, and he was none-too-pleased about the entire situation too. Something that Soren was glad to hear. He didn’t think anybody would be pleased about being suddenly locked up in here.</p><p>Eventually, his patrol duty ended which meant he could go back to his own quarters. Looking inside, Soren saw how everything was laid out, and it wasn’t too displeasing. He could work with this.</p><p>Inside he found two sets of guard uniforms, the third set being the one he was wearing right now, as well as three sets of armor and helmets, for when they had to tackle escaped inmates.</p><p>Soren couldn’t really get to sleep that night, his thoughts drifting from Magnus and Gabriel, to Radar, to Beacontown, Jesse and even the Admin herself.</p><p>Overall, he only managed to get about 2 hours of sleep before they had to go back on patrol again. This time, he remembered to stack up on cookies.</p><p>And so there he was, in his post guarding Cell Block Bravo once again. Not much happened today, other than the fact that the dark-skinned prisoner next to Radar’s cell continued to glare at him with ever-so-increasing hatred and intensity. Throughout the day, the prisoners would be let out of their cell, for <em>lunch breaks </em>as the other guards happened to call it. This was the time where the Prisoners got food, which consisted of only one bowl of mushroom stew. Mushroom stew? More like Mushroom slop.</p><p>This schedule repeated for about three more days. Each day, Soren struck up a few conversations with Magnus and Gabriel, ranging from what they had been doing for the past few years, as well as their thoughts on the whole situation. He was glad to hear when Magnus mentioned Redstonia being run by this ‘Olivia’ and them having a dance to honor Ellegaard every year. He still remembered the last words she said to him clearly.</p><p>“<em>Well, Soren… at least I… finally got to be a real hero… right?” she said, voice weak, struggling between breaths.</em></p><hr/><p>However, it was on the fourth day when something happened. Soren had been standing at his post for about an hour when his attention was drawn by the prisoner mining through the iron bars with a stone pickaxe.</p><p>“THAT’S IT!” He growled. “I’VE BEEN DOWN HERE FOR TOO LONG! I CAN’T STAND ANOTHER SECOND!”</p><p>The prisoner unsheathed a wooden sword and approached Soren, who backed away slightly.</p><p>“Nothin’ personal. I’m just mega, mega hungry,” he said, before aiming a blow at Soren. Soren responded by wordlessly snatching the sword out of the prisoner’s hand with ease.</p><p>“I’m so sorry, so sorry! I’m just so hungry!” The prisoner immediately pleaded, falling to the ground. Soren just rolled his eyes. Completely typical, they act all mighty and tough, but when someone bests them, they become whiny babies.</p><p>“Uh. Ahem! Hello? What’s going on in here?” the Warden’s voice asked as he entered the Cell Block, accompanied by a purple glowing prison Golem. Soren dropped the sword in surprise. “Soren, I expect far better from my guards than this.”</p><p>The Warden saw the sword that Soren had dropped. “And what exactly is a weapon doing down here? You should know that weapons are strictly forbidden at the Ironguard Detention Facility. And why is that prisoner out of his cell?!”</p><p>“I don’t know! That guy mined his way out of his cell and started attacking me with it,” responded Soren.</p><p>“Hmm, what refreshing honesty!”</p><p>“More like what a refreshing <em>lie</em> you mean, you rotten snitch!” snarled the prisoner.</p><p>Soren looked around, and saw that they had attracted an audience, which mainly consisted of other guards, but some prisoners were looking out of their cell, interests having been piqued.</p><p>“Golems, search his cell,” ordered the Warden.</p><p>The golem gave a nod, and walked right into his cell and opening a chest, pulling out an extra sword, some food and a set of flint and steel.</p><p>“And look at that, a chest full of contraband,” the Warden said. “You know what that means right?”</p><p>But looking back at the golem, the Warden was surprised to see that it wasn’t done picking at the chest. It picked up more items, including a block of TNT, more food, an extra wooden pickaxe. The Warden’s expression got angrier by the second.</p><p>“How much contraband is in there?” exclaimed the Warden as the golem continued to pick items out of it. Eventually, the golem picked up the chest, and upturned it, spilling it’s contents all over the cell block floor. The Warden looked murderous upon seeing how much contraband the golem had just pulled out.</p><p>“For all of that, you are being sent down to the lowest level before maximum security, Terry,” he declared. “Take him away!”</p><p>“NO! NOT CELL BLOCK ALPHA!” Terry screamed as the golem carried him away, kicking and screaming. The Warden simply ignored him and turned to Soren.</p><p>“Congratulations, Soren. You just uncovered more contraband in one sweep than I have ever seen before. And the way you handled him with that sword, that’s exactly the type of traits I expect in my guards. All I have to say, is to keep it up and-”</p><p>A siren blared through the prison.</p><p>“ESCAPED INMATE! REPEAT! ESCAPED INMATE!” A voice announced over the jukebox intercom.</p><p>“Ugh!” The Warden grumbled, turning around only to bump into two guards. “Who is it this time?”</p><p>The guard on the left whispered something into the Warden’s ear.</p><p>“WHAT?!” The Warden exploded. “ARGH! The Admin’s going to have my head if I let him get away! You two, activate Code Red!”</p><p>The Warden turned to Soren.</p><p>“Change of plans, Soren,” he said. “You haven’t had your Code Red training yet. Stay here, mind the cell and make sure nobody tries anything,”</p><p>Soren simply nodded, satisfied, the Warden spun around and joined the others in tracking down the escaped inmate, leaving the ginger to his thoughts inside a nearly empty cell-block.</p><hr/><p class="western">
  <span>Author’s Notes: Yes, this chapter may seem rushed, but I was never good at writing prison related stuff.</span>
</p><hr/><p class="western">
  <span>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up something else.</span>
</p><p class="western">
  <span>More to follow.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Act III - Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Act III – Chapter 14</p><hr/><p>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</p><hr/><p><a id="docs-internal-guid-f441139f-7fff-2680-ac" name="docs-internal-guid-f441139f-7fff-2680-ac"></a> Code Red.</p><p>
  <em>Code Red.</em>
</p><p>Apparently somebody really important has escaped, and they’re dedicating everything into recapturing this prisoner. What Soren wanted to figure out was why they were so worried about capturing <em>this </em>prisoner while when he and Jesse tried to escape before, they only sent a bunch of golems in the maze to capture them.</p><p>Eventually, he decided to approach his friends to hear what they thought about the whole escaped prisoner thing.</p><p>“In the time I spent in this cell, I heard quite a bit about this guy,” said Gabriel after Soren brought up the subject about the escaped prisoner. “Apparently, he’s quite a notorious prisoner who they have to keep locked up real tight. Rumor has it he not only knows how to escape, but he also knows a compromising secret about the Admin. And that guy is ruthless. Rumor has it he was the one who took out the Warden’s eye.”</p><p>“Yes, definitely sounds like a guy we should get on our side,” agreed Soren.</p><p>“Uh, not to be a downer or anything, but how exactly are we meant to find this guy?” questioned Magnus from the cell next to Gabriel’s.</p><p>“Apparently, he’s supposed to be locked up in the deepest, part of this place – Cell Block Tango,” explained Gabriel. “Yes, they’re big on the whole NATO alphabet here.”</p><p>Cell Block Tango. From the way Gabriel described it, it sounded like this was the name for the maximum security block of the prison. Soren had a suspicion that this is the place where Jesse is also locked up.</p><p>“Well, friends. If we’re ever going to get out of here, now is the time,” said Soren. “And that starts by getting to Cell Block Tango.”</p><p>“That filthy traitor definitely seems to like you,” Magnus pointed out. At Soren’s questioning glance, he continued. “What? Just because I don’t like him doesn’t mean you can’t use him to work yourself up his ranks.”</p><p>Gabriel nodded approvingly. “Hmm, could be useful.”</p><p>“Or it could be a complete and utter waste of time,” continued Magnus. “But let’s not think about that.”</p><p>“Well, he does seem to like me, I’ll say that,” said Soren.</p><p>“Sucking up to him for our benefit? I like the sound of that,” Magnus commented.</p><p>“Okay friends, this is the plan. You all stay here and rest up. I’m going to get to Cell Block Tango.”</p><p>“Sounds good,” nodded Gabriel. “While you do that, I’m gonna try and see if I can find out anymore from these other inmates.”</p><p>Soren nodded before backing away from their cells. Looking around at the still deserted cell block, he began to wonder to himself. How to get promoted?</p><p>Looking around, he saw the cell at the very end of the cell block, which belonged to the giant red-skinned guy that was apparently named ‘Oxblood’. Soren did notice that he always appeared apprehensive, constantly looking to see if anyone was looking and always quick to drop whatever he was doing whenever anybody walked by. Definitely the behavior of a guy... who has something to hide.</p><p>Soren walked by Oxblood’s cell, and saw that he was currently asleep. And considering everyone else was busy with catching that escaped prisoner, this was the perfect time. He quietly used his guard status to open the cell, and crept inside.</p><p>Immediately, he noticed a poster of a mooshroom on the side opposite the bed, and a wall right behind it. Nothing suspicious yet, but looking closely, Soren did not fail to see that part of the wall was made out of wool, instead of the usual stone that made up the rest of the cell. He placed his ear next to it, seeing if he could hear anything on the other side. The sound that greeted him… was mooing.</p><p>Wait? Mooing? Soren remembered clearly that live animals were considered contraband in the Ironguard Detention Facility, and if this Oxblood guy, who already looked very shady, was hiding an animal inside his cell, that could mean huge trouble. It was perfect.</p><p>After hearing the mooing, Soren immediately understood what the poster was for, and shook his head. Was Oxblood trying to give his secret away? He rolled up his sleeves and began to punch the wall, revealing what appeared to be stone-bricks, arranged in a way that seemed like it was meant to be opened and closed like a door.</p><p>Upon hearing Oxblood cough, Soren immediately froze. Thinking that he had been caught snooping, he glanced over at Oxblood, but saw that he had just rolled over in his sleep. Phew! Not wanting to take any more chances, Soren carefully pried the mooshroom poster from the wall. Behind it, was a set of three buttons.</p><p>Soren knew exactly what this was. It was a secret puzzle, where you had to press the buttons in the correct order to open up the door properly. Taking a risk, he pressed a button and almost froze when part of the door made a sound opening. But Oxblood did not stir. Seems like he was a heavy sleeper.</p><p>Acting quickly, Soren pressed the buttons in a random order, and by luck, managed to find the correct combination quickly. Oh if only anyone was around to see him be this impressive.</p><p>Walking inside, Soren found a room made out of dirt, and encased in a pen, Soren saw exactly what he expected: A live mooshroom.</p><p>“Just what I thought,” he commented. “Oh, you are in deep trouble now, Oxblood.”</p><p>“Soundin’ to me like I could say the same thing about you, guard,” a voice growled in response. Freezing, Soren slowly turned his head. To his horror, there stood Oxblood, standing and glaring at him, fully awake. “Mind explainin’ what yer doin’ in my most private of spaces? Visitors ain’t welcome. And you are most definitely a visitor.”</p><p>“Me? I just caught you harboring a giant piece of contraband,” said Soren. “How about <em>you</em> explain to <em>me</em> what you’re doing?”</p><p>“I’m questioning someone who’s about to lose a lot of teeth if they don’t mind their ‘tude,” Oxblood answered, continuing to growl. “If you hadn’t noticed, you left the hole open. Now get outta my cell before you regret gettin’ in it.”</p><p>“Mind your tone, Oxblood!” warned Soren.</p><p>Before Oxblood could respond, Soren heard distant footsteps, which stopped abruptly as the mooshroom continued to moo. Looks like the other guards had just gotten back from capturing that escaped prisoner, and just in time.</p><p>“Did I hear mooing?!” the Warden’s voice questioned. This was the first time in Soren’s entire time here that he was glad to hear his voice.</p><p>“OH COME ON!” exclaimed Oxblood, realizing he was caught.</p><p>Immediately, the Warden came rushing into the cell, with two armored guards in tow. He stopped and gasped upon seeing the mooshroom.</p><p>“Excellent work, new recruit,” he praised, before turning towards the other guards. “You see, <em>this</em> is how you get promoted. Work your way up.”</p><p>The Warden grabbed the mooshroom and led him out of the cell, the other guards grabbing hold of Oxblood.</p><p>“But first… to maintain order,” continued the Warden. “This creature cannot be allowed to disturb the delicate balance of the Ironguard Detention Facility. Anthony, shears!”</p><p>The guard, Anthony, pulled out a set of shears and handed it to the Warden.</p><p>“Shear it, would you Soren?”</p><p>“And if I do that, it’ll be...”</p><p>“An ordinary cow, yes. Y’know, bringing back the balance of the Ironguard Detention Facility. I thought that was obvious,” finished the Warden. Oxblood stared at Soren with wide pleading eyes.</p><p>“What? No!” he screamed.</p><p>“Don’t do it, Soren!” Soren heard Radar plead from his cell.</p><p>“Not liking your hesitation here, Soren,”</p><p>“You can’t! You won’t!” Oxblood continued to plead.</p><p>As much as Soren wanted to refuse and to rub it in the Warden’s face, he had a cover to maintain, and a cell block to reach. Reluctantly, he took the shears.</p><p>“I… I can’t watch,” Oxblood closed his eyes and turned away.</p><p>Taking a huge deep breath, Soren stepped in and did the deed that not only would keep his cover, but would also make Oxblood hate him forever. The mooshroom seemed to accept it’s fate as Soren sheared the mushrooms off of it, turning it into a normal cow.</p><p>Oxblood was let go by the guards, and he slowly walked up to the animal that used to be a mooshroom and fell to his knees.</p><p>“Geoff? GEOFF? You still recognize me, right buddy? Geoff!?” he pleaded. “GEOFF!!!”</p><p>He burst into tears.</p><p>“That wasn’t so hard, now was it?” said the Warden.</p><p>Seeing Oxblood completely break down like that filled Soren’s heart with cold rage. His right eye began to twitch slightly as he wanted to rip the Warden’s other eye out. It took all of his self-control to remain calm, knowing that he had to keep working his way up.</p><p>“As for you, Soren. It’s clear you are ready to advance to bigger and better things. You’ve been promoted to Cell Block Alpha!”</p><p>Soren did a fist pump, but was cut short by a familiar sweet talking female voice.</p><p>“Well, well, well, I get to be your boss now, Soren. Aren’t you the luckiest?”</p><p>Soren’s mood changed faster than a creeper in a pack of ocelots. He now had to work with Stella?</p><p>“Now get a move on, we don’t have all day,” Stella said, turning around and leaving.</p><p>With a groan, Soren followed her out of Cell Block Bravo.</p><hr/><p>Stella led Soren through more sets of hallways and corridors until they reached Cell Block Alpha, which looked almost completely different to Cell Block Bravo.</p><p>“Welcome to Cell Block Alpha, Soren!” Stella exclaimed as they stepped inside. “I’m sure you’ve noticed quite a few differences from those other cell blocks. For one, the prisoners do not get lunch breaks at all. The gross prisoners in this part of the prison are to be locked up in their cells twenty-four-seven.”</p><p>“But why?” asked Soren. “How do they eat?”</p><p>“These are some of the most violent prisoners that you will ever meet, Soren,” explained Stella. “They are to be locked up at all times so that they don’t run amok and cause chaos. They do eat of course, but only in their cells. Our job is to supervise them, and make sure that they are all accounted for at all times. I mean, while those prisoners are at least <em>getting</em> food, I can’t say the same about my former rival… and <em>him</em>.”</p><p>Stella pointed to a hallway protected by a giant iron gate at the end of the cell block.</p><p>“’<em>Him</em>’ who?” questioned Soren, playing dumb.</p><p>“You must’ve heard that alarm before, right? <em>He</em>, aka the Prisoner locked up there managed to escape. He was recaptured, but not before taking out a lot of guards. Don’t get any ideas, though. Only the top level of guards are allowed in there.</p><p>Now, if you’ll excuse me… Lluna and I are off to prove why we’re the best guards ever.”</p><p>“Arrogant twit,” whispered Soren behind her back, watching her walk away.</p><p>While Stella had trouble getting Lluna into their office, Soren took a look around. The stench was absolutely atrocious. How could anyone stay in here for any length of time?</p><p>Soren approached the iron gate. Yep, that was definitely locked up tight. How on earth was he going to be able to get in?</p><p>“Hey, don’t even bother trying to get in,” a guard said, approaching Soren. “See that control room up there? That’s the master control room. Only way to open up the gate is through there, and only the Admin and the Warden are allowed inside. Besides, why would you want into Cell Block Tango? That prisoner down there hates guards the most. He tore out the Warden’s eye one time. He’d eat you alive if you got in there.”</p><p>So, from what the guard had said, the gate is connected to whatever is in the control room up there, and it seems only the Admin and the Warden were allowed inside. Yeah, like that’s going to stop him. But how to get in though.</p><p>Shrugging, Soren trekked up to the office, and what he saw stumped him. You’d think they’d put more than just a regular iron door in-front of it. And to his right, he saw that there were a bunch of item frames. He recognized them for what they were straight away. It was the type of contraption where you had to put the correct item in the correct item frame. Ellegaard wasn’t the only person of the Order of the Stone who knew how to work with redstone, after all.</p><p>Looking back at the iron door, Soren saw that there was no protection behind it. To get in, it was simply a manner of opening the door.</p><p>“Soren! Step away from the control room!” Stella’s voice snapped. Soren rolled his eyes and stepped away. While he might not be able to open the door, it could still be possible to break it down however. Only problem was that he was missing his inventory entirely, and he was not going to mine that door down with his bare hands, not with the mining fatigue that he always felt whenever he got too close to a wall.</p><p>The rest of the shift passed uneventfully, and once again, Soren did not get much sleep that night, thinking too much about that door, and ways that he could bypass it.</p><p>One idea that he did get though, was that there was a possibility that Stella might still have her inventory on her, since she had completely sucked up to the Admin before he and Jesse got banished to this place. It wasn’t a very high-bar, but it was the only idea that he had.</p><p>And thus… he eventually nodded off to sleep, knowing full-well that he would be awoken in three hours time for another shift. Which, if things go well with Stella, could very well be his last.</p><hr/><p>Author’s Note: Again, apologies if this feels rushed.</p><p>So, it seems Soren is making progress here. But it all depends on whether or not Stella helps him or not.</p><p>
  <span>Oh, and if you’re wondering why the previous two chapters were updated again, I had to simply… correct a few continuity errors. Nothing big.</span>
</p><hr/><p>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</p><p>More to follow.</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Act III - Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Act III – Chapter 15</p><hr/><p>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</p><hr/><p>“<span>Soren, you can’t keep shoving your nose into things like that,” scolded Stella when Soren finally went up to her office. “It’s bad form.”</span></p><p>“Look, Stella. I’m gonna be honest with you here, I need your help,” said Soren, scratching his head. “I need an axe.”</p><p>“Why, exactly?” Stella asked, folding her arms. Soren internally sighed. Why did she have to be so difficult? “Not that I, y’know, really care. It’s probably stupid.”</p><p>“Fine!” huffed Soren. He wasn’t in the mood for this. “You want the truth? Here is the truth – I’m trying to get to Cell Block Tango.”</p><p>“As much as I admire you actually telling the truth,” said Stella. “There’s not a creeper’s chance in a cat pack. Not helping you here. No, not risking angering the Admin.</p><p>“I had to really prove myself to get this gig as it is. Not giving it up for you. I have a place here. Respect, y’know, and power, and yeah… the works! It’s actually very prestigious. Many, <em>many</em> people would love to have this position.”</p><p>Soren groaned. “Let me tell you something. When the Admin first caught up with us, she mentioned a Redstone Heart. You following me?”</p><p>Stella raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“Yes? Although I don’t see what point you’re trying to make here, Soren.”</p><p>“I’m getting to that,” snapped Soren. “So, this Redstone Heart, I actually worked with that very item myself a time or two, and what the Admin can do with that heart… it will horrify you.”</p><p>“Hm?”</p><p>“The Redstone Heart is supposed to be some kind of power-source, like a super version of a Redstone Block. Of course, some people believe that thing is just a power-source and nothing more, but I don’t think so. When I was working with it, I could sort of <em>feel</em> that something was very <em>off</em> about it. It was the exact same feeling I got in the presence of the Admin.</p><p>“I don’t know <em>exactly</em> what that thing is fully capable of, but I have a strong feeling that what the Admin is planning to do with it, will spell disaster for everyone, and I mean <em>everyone</em>,” Soren said, giving Stella a look that he was totally serious. He saw in Stella’s expression that she was starting to have second thoughts about working with the Admin. Now, to drive it home.</p><p>“Stella, if you don’t help me, your town – Champion City, could be in for serious trouble,” said Soren, hoping that the mere mention of Champion City in such a state would get Stella to give in. “And I can tell just how much that place means to you.”</p><p>Stella now looked fearful. Seems Soren did get through to her after all. She nervously glanced around before pulling an iron axe out of her inventory.</p><p>“Here’s the axe,” she said, as Soren took it. “But if what you say is true, if Champion City really is in danger, I need you to help me get out of here. I know we haven’t really gotten along, what with you being friends with Jesse and all, but I also know that you really have something personal against the Admin. With the way you kept glaring at her. That’s not too much, right?”</p><p>Soren sighed. “Sure, Stella. I’ll be happy to help you get out of here.”</p><p>Her face brightened.</p><p>“If you’re happy, I’m happy,” she said.</p><p>Soren held the axe up. “I’m going to use this to break into the control room, and hopefully gain us entry into Cell Block Tango. I’m not sure how we’re gonna sneak by the guards in there, but...”</p><p>“I got an idea,” Stella pitched in. “As far as I know, all of the cell blocks are connected to that, if we open all of the other cells in the prison...”</p><p>“A riot! Yes! The perfect distraction!” gasped Soren. “I’m headed up there! If anyone follows, try and stall them. See you in a minute, Stella!”</p><p>Soren quickly ran out of the office, looking around to make sure that no-one was about to witness what he was about to do. Once he made sure that he wouldn’t be seen, he crept back up to the control room, and used the axe to break down the door. It took a few hits, but it eventually gave way to the force of the iron axe.</p><p>Slipping inside, Soren’s eyes widened at the amount of levers there were. They were all separated into groups, from Cell Block Alpha to Cell Block Echo. Not only that, but at the end of each category was a master lever that controlled all of the cell doors of the specific cell block.</p><p>Without wasting time, Soren flipped all five master levers, as well as the lever that opened the passage to Cell Block Tango. Immediately, he was greeted by the echoes of hundreds of cell doors opening. Looking down into Cell Block Alpha, he saw prisoners begin to swarm the Cell Block, quickly overpowering the guards that were assigned there. The riot had started.</p><p>Knowing that he only had a few minutes before the Warden would arrive, he quickly snatched up as many levers as he could, including the Cell Block Tango lever, so that they wouldn’t be able to contain the ensuing chaos very quickly.</p><p>After his work in the control room was done, Soren left the room, and jumped off the catwalk toward the lower floor. With the chaos going on in there, his escape was entirely unnoticed.</p><p>“Stella, come on!” he shouted, gesturing Stella to follow before he sped towards the now-open corridor leading towards Cell Block Tango. Just as he took two steps inside, a wall of slime blocks suddenly appeared in-front of him.</p><p>Soren bounced off and landed on his back, and he found himself staring into the glowing pink eyes of the Admin. She looked furious.</p><p>“Going somewhere, Soren?” She spat, before pushing her right hand forward. Soren felt himself launch backwards, landing back on the floor of Cell Block Delta, the Admin floating 20 feet above him. “The Warden told me that you were zooming up the ranks, and now here you were, attempting to get into a place that you most definitely aren’t supposed to be. Why am I not surprised?”</p><p>Soren remained silent.</p><p>“What, you lost for words? Yeah, you should be, you little saboteur!”</p><p>The Admin clapped her hands, and the Warden appeared underneath her. He turned around and gasped upon seeing her, dropping the cake he was eating.</p><p>“Ah! Admin, ma’am.”</p><p>“What are you doing? Just what the hell are you doing?” snapped the Admin. “There’s a riot going on here and you’re eating cake?!”</p><p>“S-sorry. I tend to eat a lot when I’m nervous!” admitted the Warden. The Admin sneered.</p><p>“And while you’re sitting there, doing absolutely nothing, stuffing your face, I caught the little saboteur who started this little riot. Want to see who it is?”</p><p>The Admin gestured towards Soren.</p><p>“Soren?! Y-you, you were my greatest hope! You were moving through the ranks, and now you’ve ruined me,” said the Warden, in a betrayed voice. “I thought you were following in my footsteps, trying to reform. Was that, all lies?”</p><p>“Afraid so, Warden,” said Soren without a shred of remorse.</p><p>“Ugh! You let him get the drop on you, you’re eating cake and therefore, you’re useless! What are you doing?”</p><p>“Sorry, Admin.”</p><p>“Oh, you <em>will</em> be,” said the Admin in a low voice as she raised her hands. The Warden floated into the air, glowing white before dropping to the floor again, his outfit replaced with a prisoner jumpsuit. “AND THAT GOES FOR ALL OF YOU! EVERY SINGLE GUARD IN THIS PLACE! ESPECIALLY YOU! SOREN!”</p><p>As Soren stared into the Admin’s glowing pink eyes, he saw that something about them seemed off. It was really hard to notice, especially with them glowing, but something about them told Soren that the Admin wasn’t 100% fully present in the conversation, and that something more sinister may be happening, something the Admin isn’t letting on.</p><p>“So, you want to play games, huh? Okay then, let’s play!” she said, giving a menacing chuckle. She clapped her hands, and immediately Jack and Petra appeared on opposite sides of Soren. They were both wearing the same clothes as when he last saw them, but that’s where the similarities stopped. They were both standing very still, but it was the eyes that terrified Soren.</p><p>Both the pupils and the sclera were glowing a deep, dark blood red color. Soren let out an audible gasp.</p><p>“Pull out your swords, and attack Soren,” The Admin instructed. Petra and Jack both immediately complied and pulled out their swords. That’s when it hit Soren. They were being mind controlled by the Admin. The Admin waved her hand, and a Diamond Sword appeared in Soren’s hand.</p><p>“And you... will defend yourself. Let’s see what the chances are, without your precious command block, hmm?”</p><p>Soren froze, how did the Admin find out about that?</p><p>The Admin shifted her attention to the Warden.</p><p>“Open your mouth!” The Admin demanded, before spawning a cake. The Warden hesitantly opened his mouth, and the Admin used her powers to shove the whole cake into his mouth.</p><p>“You want to eat instead of getting off your ass and helping? Go right on ahead!” said the Admin, giving another sinister chuckle. “Ready?! FIGHT!”</p><p>Without warning, both Petra and Jack immediately charged towards Soren, and he only had time to quickly grab his sword and block Petra, before Jack immediately swiped him to the ground.</p><p>“Ouch!” he gasped, quickly getting back to his feet. He wasn’t going to be taken down this easily. He gave Jack a hard kick, knocking him straight off the platform, and blocked Petra, overpowering her sudden unusual strength and knocking her back with his sword.</p><p>Petra staggered back for a moment, before recollecting herself and charging towards Soren again.</p><p>“Petra, fight it! Fight her control!” Soren pleaded, to no avail while struggling to hold her off with his sword again.</p><p>Petra kicked Soren to the floor and raised her sword. Soren immediately reacted by rolling out of the path of her sword. He looked up at the Admin and saw an expression of malicious glee on her face. Anger rose up inside him. How dare she turn people against him like this? He pulled out his sword, quickly got up, side-stepped Petra and charged towards the Admin.</p><p>An expression of surprise overcame her face for a moment, before being replaced with a glare. She stuck out her left hand, stopping Soren in his tracks. The sword Soren was holding disappeared into white smoke, and he rose up into the air again. The Admin immediately burst into her high-pitched maniacal laughter, which echoed around Cell Block Alpha.</p><p>“FOOL!” she screamed. “You honestly think a measly sword is going to hurt me? I don’t know whether to laugh at you, or cringe at you for that!”</p><p>The Admin burst into laughter again. She waved her hand, causing Petra, Jack, the cake and the platform to disappear. The Admin, the Warden and Soren began to float down to the ground.</p><p>“Besides, you’re too late! The world has already been made useful, and nothing you can do down here will be able to change that. So carry on with all this pointless rioting, it’s not like you’ll gain much out of it. You can all burn in hell for all I care.”</p><p>“What about Romeo? What about all of us?” pleaded the Warden. Soren raised an eyebrow, was that the name of the prisoner?</p><p>“You honestly think I give a damn about what happens to you all? The Ironguard Detention Facility remains buried underneath a bedrock layer, which means it’s inescapable, period! Whether you like it or not, you <em>will</em> be spending the rest of your worthless lives here and you will <em>never</em> see the outside world again.</p><p>“And on that note, I’m leaving, I’ve got better things to be doing than dancing around with you worthless fools all day long!”</p><p>She shifted her attention to Stella, who had just appeared out of her office. “And you, are you coming with?”</p><p>Stella gave a nervous expression, before slowly nodding her head. Both she and Lluna began to float towards the Admin.</p><p>“I’ve got your back, Soren. Trust me. Stop her, do whatever it takes,” She whispered. “Coming, darling Admin!”</p><p>The Admin floated towards Soren, stopping a few inches away from his face.</p><p>“Go ahead,” she said. “Go and free Jesse and try to take your world back. I’ll be watching and laughing at your pitiful attempts. But... whatever. Ciao!”</p><p>The Admin disappeared with Stella and Lluna, leaving behind purple ender particles which slowly faded.</p><p>The Warden turned around to face Soren.</p><p>“What have you done?” he growled. “I trusted you! I TRUSTED YOU!”</p><p>“Get out of the way!” Soren spat, pushing the Warden aside. “I don’t have time for you!”</p><p>Soren quickly rushed down the hallway towards Cell Block Tango. He needed to find Jesse and this other prisoner, and soon.</p><hr/><p>Author’s Notes: Well, that’s that. (Again, apologies if this feels rushed)</p><hr/><p>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</p><p>More to follow.</p>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Act III - Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Act III – Chapter 16</p><hr/><p>
  <em>Trigger Warning: This chapter contains </em>
  <em>swearing.</em>
  <em> Reader discretion is advised.</em>
</p><hr/><p>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</p><hr/><p><a id="docs-internal-guid-f4fe2607-7fff-6ea5-d3b4-7594d1a8feda" name="docs-internal-guid-f4fe2607-7fff-6ea5-d3b4-7594d1a8feda"></a> The hallway down to Cell Block Tango went on for much longer than Soren expected, but finally, after the eighth turn, he finally reached the entrance.</p><p>He emerged into what appeared to be the largest cell block in the Detention Facility yet. It wasn’t built like the other cell blocks either. Instead, Soren saw two mini-towers, with bridges connecting to catwalks, which spiraled around them towards the top, where the actual cells, which appeared to be made out of bedrock, were located.</p><p>Behind them, Soren saw a vast space of nothing but a lake of lava which appeared to stretch on forever, with no visible wall or ceiling in sight, just an orange hue from the lava. In short, it made Cell Block Alpha look like a collection of low-level holding cells. Soren expected guards to be planted everywhere, but there was not a soul to be found from where he was standing.</p><p>Of course, they were all probably scrambling to contain the mass riot that Soren started, and with the Warden having been fired, and the Admin having abandoned the place, they were running without a leader. Which basically meant that the riot was far from ending.</p><p>To Soren’s right, he saw a third bridge, leading into what he assumed was another control room. Of course the main control room wouldn’t control anything in here. He had to open these cells separately.</p><p>Soren crossed the bridge on his left, leading towards the catwalk on the left tower. Upon reaching it, he hastily climbed the stairs to the top, and he saw that the bedrock cell was double-roomed and double-locked. The first door had a lever, which was locked from the outside, which Soren was able to open easily.</p><p>Stepping inside, Soren saw that the room he was in contained things such as a desk and some other useless items. He saw a window, which peered into the second part of the cell, which was blocked off by another iron door. Soren walked up to the window.</p><p>He saw that the walls of the second room were made out of obsidian, with the ceiling and floor made out of bedrock. It was empty, save for a bed, which had someone sleeping in it. The figure was facing away from Soren, but Soren recognized who it was immediately. It was Jesse. She had been outfitted with a straitjacket and a muzzle.</p><p>Soren tapped his right knuckle on the window, which startled Jesse awake. She bolted upright and almost fell out of the bed, giving out a muffled scream. She turned towards Soren, and green-eyes widened upon seeing him.</p><p>“Jesse!” exclaimed Soren. “Hang tight, I’m going to get you out of there.”</p><p>Seeing Jesse nod in understanding, Soren sprinted back out and towards the Control Room, which was near the entrance. Surprised to find it unlocked, he raced inside, and saw two levers. One was marked ‘JESSE’ and the other was marked ‘ROMEO’. So that <em>was</em> the prisoner’s name. The name gave Soren a huge déjà vu sensation</p><p>Without delaying further, he flipped both levers, and immediately raced back to Jesse’s tower. Upon reaching Jesse again, he untied the muzzle binding her mouth shut and helped her out of the straitjacket. It was then that Soren saw that she now had noticeable bruising under her eyes, which was no doubt from the nose fracture that the Admin gave her before they got sent down here.</p><p>“Thanks, Soren,” said Jesse, catching her breath. “That was… that was the worst.”</p><p>“While you were locked up, I figured out a way for us to possibly get out of here?”</p><p>That grabbed Jesse’s attention immediately.</p><p>“You did?”</p><p>“Yes. Locked up in high-security alongside you is a prisoner who is supposedly named ‘Romeo’,” Soren explained. “Apparently, he’s a notorious prisoner who apparently knows a huge secret about the Admin, <em>and</em> knows how to escape. Which is why he’s locked up here.”</p><p>“Yes, that’s perfect! That sounds exactly like the sort of person we should get on our side,” Jesse said.</p><p>“Yes! Now let’s go meet this ‘Romeo’ and see if he can get us out of here,”</p><p>Soren led Jesse out of her cell and towards the other tower, where Romeo was supposed to be.</p><p>“How about you go in and introduce yourself, while I wait outside,” Soren suggested. “I have a feeling he’d be more trusting toward a fellow prisoner than a guard.”</p><hr/><p>Jesse took a deep breath, and then stepped inside. She almost flinched back at what she saw.</p><p>Before her stood who she assumed to be Romeo. He had matted, faded, shoulder-length dirty red hair, his skin looked dead and sickly and he, like Jesse previously, was wearing a straitjacket over his prisoner jumpsuit and a face muzzle. Upon seeing Jesse, he glared at her with extreme loathing.</p><p>As Romeo made angry muffled vocalizations, Jesse hesitantly stepped closer and removed his muzzle. Immediately, he started hacking, coughing and spitting. Jesse took a step back.</p><p>“Whoa!”</p><p>Eventually, Romeo caught his breath and turned his attention back to Jesse.</p><p>“Who the hell are you?!” he demanded. His voice sounded hoarse and rough, as though he had long since lost the habit of using it regularly.</p><p>“I’m Jesse,” Jesse introduced. “You must be Romeo.”</p><p>Romeo sneered. “Brave of you to come here, to sneak past all of those guards to enter my cell, without even thinking about who might be inside, eh? I know you’re here because you need my help with something, why else would you <em>stupidly</em> risk getting caught in a restricted area by <em>her</em> to meet the most infamous prisoner in this place, eh?</p><p>“But, haha, <em>but</em>, what you didn’t count on, is that I could easily refuse to help you, and if you get caught after that happens, I’ll get the last laugh, as you would deserve it for being so fucking blind!” Romeo continued.</p><p>“Look, Romeo, I’m not your enemy. You don’t need to threaten me,” reasoned Jesse.</p><p>“<em>Not my enemy?</em> Oh, you really have no idea, do you? Why do you think that stupid prick Gordon lost his eye, hmm? How do you think he got that job as the Warden?” questioned Romeo. “He used to be a prisoner, like me, and before I was sent to maximum, I struck up a friendship with him. We planned to escape together, but then he <em>sold me out</em>!</p><p>“I am very proud to say that I ripped his eye clean out of its socket for that,” Romeo continued. “And since that day, I vowed to myself to trust <em>nobody</em>!”</p><p>“Fine! Don’t trust me,” said Jesse. “But you’re still supposed to know how to get out of here, right?”</p><p>“Oh, playing that card are we?” questioned Romeo. “Just give up! Nobody has ever escaped this place, and nobody ever will.”</p><p>“You’ve tried to escape multiple times, why would you do that if you didn’t know the way out?”</p><p>“I don’t have to answer any more of your questions, <em>Jesse</em>,” Romeo snapped. “I’m not helping you, just leave.”</p><p>Okay, this wasn’t working. Time to bring the Admin into the conversation.</p><p>“The Admin’s got her hands on this powerful Redstone Heart, and she’s running around, planning to do something horrible with it. I’ve gotta get out of here now and stop her!”</p><p>Romeo froze, and turned around with a surprised look on his face.</p><p>“Please, Romeo. I need your help. You may be the only chance I have to stop the Admin.”</p><p>“Hold on a second, how do you know about the heart?” questioned Romeo.</p><p>“Wait, you know about it too?”</p><p>“Of course, and I also know just how deadly that thing can be, especially in the hands of Xara,” answered Romeo. “After all, she <em>did</em> create it.”</p><p>“Xara?”</p><p>“Xara Stewart - the Admin’s real name.”</p><p>“That’s funny, I’d call her ‘Slimeball’, because that’s what she is! And a sadist!”</p><p>“Sounds to me like you previously had possession of the heart, and if you did, you’re damn lucky she didn’t kill you on the spot.”</p><p>“She almost did,” admitted Jesse. “So <em>now</em> you want to help me?”</p><p>“Of course! Me and her are the only ones who know exactly how powerful that heart is. If she’s undertaking a project so advanced that she needs it, it could spell disaster for us all.”</p><p>Romeo sighed. “Okay, fine! I’m going to give you one chance, I will help you escape, but under two conditions.”</p><p>“What is that?”</p><p>“One, you help me kill Xara,” finished Romeo. “Two, you do not betray me. Let Gordon’s eye be a prime example of what happens if you do.”</p><p>“You got a deal,” said Jesse.</p><p>“Good! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We still need to find a way to escape that won’t alert that bald shithead until it’s too late.”</p><p>“Ahem! Actually, I already took care of that,” said Soren, stepping inside. “When the Admin caught me trying to get in here, she fired the Warden. Not only for placing undeserved trust in me, but for also eating cake instead of helping out with the riots.”</p><p>Romeo’s eyes widened, in a hopeful manner.</p><p>“You’re joking, right?”</p><p>“Nope.”</p><p>“That’s brilliant! We won’t have any trouble escaping now!” Romeo exclaimed.</p><p>“Oh, and before we leave. Some of my friends were locked up in here as well,” Jesse said. “We’ll need to get them first.”</p><p>Romeo nodded. And with absolute ease, he managed to slip himself out of the straitjacket.</p><p>“The more, the merrier,” said Romeo. “This way.”</p><p>Romeo led Jesse and Soren back through Cell Block Alpha, and they raced their way back through towards Cell Block Bravo. On the way, they saw that the riot had really taken off now. They had to take a few detours due to the destruction that was being caused. Eventually, they reached Cell Block Delta, where they saw Radar gathered together with… Gabriel and Magnus?</p><p>“Jesse!” Radar called out, racing toward her. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re okay! I was so worried!”</p><p>“Glad<em>I’m </em>okay? I’m just relieved that <em>you’re</em> okay.”</p><p>“Ah, you must be the infamous prisoner,” said Gabriel, holding his hand out. Romeo took it.</p><p>“Right, you’ve already met me and Soren, these guys are Radar, Magnus and Gabriel,” said Jesse, pointing to each of them.</p><p>“Romeo Blanc,” Romeo introduced.</p><p>“Jesse! Long time no see,” exclaimed Magnus.</p><p>Jesse simply chuckled.</p><p>“Yes, yes... touching reunion,” snapped Romeo. “Can we get going please?”</p><p>“Yeah, we’re going, we’re going,” said Jesse. “C’mon.”</p><p>As they continued walking down the hallway, they saw a group of armored guards running past them.</p><p>“Run for your lives!”</p><p>“The prisoners have escaped!”</p><p>“The Warden’s been fired!”</p><p>Two prisoners were on their tail, including the guy from before who had the chest full of contraband.</p><p>“When I find that Warden, I’m gonna make him pay for what he put me through!”</p><p>“Wow, I wouldn’t want to be the Warden when they find him,” said Magnus. “Those prisoners look like they’re out for blood.”</p><p>“I don’t blame them. The Warden’s definitely got a lot to lose. Just wonder what he <em>will</em> lose when they find him,” said Soren.</p><p>As they continued on throughout the prison, they saw a few prisoners race out of a storage room. Taking a look, Jesse saw that the storage room contained weapons.</p><p>“Let’s see if they left us any weapons,” Jesse said.</p><p>Romeo looked as though Christmas had come early. He was bouncing with excitement.</p><p>“Yes!”</p><p>He raced inside, the others following. Jesse quickly decided to choose an enchanted sword over a diamond sword, as it was enchanted with sharpness, meaning that it would do more damage, even if it wouldn’t last as long.</p><p>“Okay, definitely feeling better with a sword in my hand again,” said Jesse.</p><p>Magnus immediately went for a few stacks of TNT. Romeo took the diamond sword with no enchantment and a bow along with a stack of various tipped arrows. Gabriel picked up a regular iron sword, while Soren settled instead for another bow with arrows.</p><p>Meanwhile Radar came out with a shield, Jesse and the others stared at him.</p><p>“What? It’s versatile,” he defended.</p><p>Romeo did a three-hundred and sixty degree spin attack, which missed Radar’s head by a mere inch, startling him.</p><p>“Looking good, gang. Now let’s-”</p><p>“You jerks better not have taken all the cool weapons before I got to dig through ‘em!” an angry voice growled from the door. Standing there, Jesse saw a giant red-skinned figure, who was followed inside by a cow.</p><p>“Right, can you get out of the way?” asked Romeo, only to be ignored as the red-skinned dude turned to Soren.</p><p>“I oughta pound you to pulp for what you’ve done to Geoffy-Poo!” he threatened, raising a big red fist. “INCOMING FACE PUNCH!”</p><p>He immediately found a gleaming sword in his face.</p><p>“Listen, <em>you</em>.” Romeo snarled, lips curling in a vicious grin. “I don’t give two shits what he did to your <em>precious </em>cow, but you’re holding us up.” He pressed the sword against the other inmate, not hard enough to break skin but hard enough to make a point. “Reconsider your emotions and help us out of here, or fuck off!”</p><p>The other prisoner’s demeanor changed in a snap, hands raising in defense as he backed away in fear. “I-I don’t want no trouble! I-I’ll go! I’m outta here!” He turned around, motioning for the cow to follow. “C-Come along, Geoffy…!”</p><p>“That was frighteningly effective,” Jesse commented.</p><p>Romeo responded with a chuckle.</p><p>“Let’s go!” Romeo commanded, gesturing for the group to follow him.</p><p>Romeo led them straight to the front entrance of the prison. Jesse took a look around and saw that nothing had changed out there at all.</p><p>“All right, it should be just around here,” Romeo said.</p><p>As Romeo led them straight to the iron gates at the front of the prison, they saw that the Warden was blocking it with himself and a piece of TNT.</p><p>“We have a situation here,” Gabriel observed.</p><p>“Back! Back! All of you!” The Warden ordered. “One more step and it’s kaboomsville!”</p><p>The Warden noticed Soren.</p><p>“Soren!”</p><p>The other prisoners turned around and gave Soren a scowl upon noticing his clothes.</p><p>“Hey, you’re wearing a guard’s outfit!” A prisoner observed. “Well, guards ain’t in charge no more! And furthermore, I’m not a fan of guards! So, thusly, you’re getting beat up! A bunch.”</p><p>It was then and there, that the Warden finally noticed who was standing next to them.</p><p>“Hello, Gordon!” Romeo greeted, voice dripping with gleeful malice. His lips parted into a cheshire grin. “Remember me?”</p><p>“You... y-you freed <em>Romeo</em>?!” Gordon gasped in horror. “Just when I thought you couldn’t ruin my life anymore! What in the world were you THINKING?!”</p><p>The other prisoners backed away in fear upon noticing that it was indeed Romeo. They all abandoned Gordon, screaming in terror.</p><p>“I think you’ve clearly lost your mind!” Gordon continued. “That red-headed <em>menace</em>, is nothing but bad news!”</p><p>“Compared to what Xara has done, I’m practically a saint!” defended Romeo. “Not like you, a spineless worm who would sell anyone out just to advance himself.”</p><p>“Did you know he was once an Admin, too?”</p><p>The entire group looked at Romeo in shock.</p><p>“The Admin had to take his powers away. He tried to kill her!” Gordon said.</p><p>Romeo was glaring at Gordon with such hatred and loathing that even Jesse felt unsure about being too close to him. His head was literally shaking in rage. His red hair looked as though it was about to combust into flames at any moment.</p><p>“I promised the Admin I’d never let him free, no matter what! And I’ll keep that promise! Even if I need to blow us all up to do it!” Gordon declared before putting the TNT down and holding out a flint and steel.</p><p>But, before he could light it, Romeo took out his bow and arrow and shot a poison arrow directly into his heart. Gordon’s eyes widened as he sank to his knees and dropped to the floor, poofing into smoke, leaving behind the flint and steel and TNT. Romeo slowly walked up and pocketed the items. He turned around, to notice Jesse and the gang staring at him with mistrustful gazes. Soren was the only one not looking at him with suspicion.</p><p>“What?” Romeo asked.</p><p>“So, is it true, what he said about you? You were an Admin?”</p><p>Romeo closed his eyes and turned around.</p><p>“This isn’t how I intended for you guys to find out,” Romeo said, quietly.</p><p>“We want answers, Romeo!” Jesse exclaimed.</p><p>Romeo sighed, before nodding.</p><p>“Yes, I was an Admin,” Romeo confessed, his voice a mere whisper. “It was a long, long time ago. When Xara revealed herself for who she truly was... she took my Admin powers away from me before building this place and banishing me into it.”</p><p>Romeo noticed that Jesse was still looking at him warily.</p><p>“But Xara is the one in the wrong here. She was the one who trapped you all down here, not me!” Romeo shouted, pleading. “Look, I can’t tell you exactly where we’re going or what we’ll be looking for, you’d never believe me if I did. But you have to trust me... please!”</p><p>“I’m sick of secrets. You should’ve said something!” Jesse snapped.</p><p>“I was going to lay the truth onto you slowly.” Romeo responded. “If I had just shoved the news all on you at once, who’s stopping you from condemning and abandoning me? I need to get my vengeance on Xara, no matter what! I’ve waited too fucking long! I’m not squandering it now!”</p><p>“There’s no way we can trust him now!” exclaimed Magnus.</p><p>Soren stepped in.</p><p>“I knew you looked familiar! You were one of Fred’s old admin friends!” recognised Soren.</p><p>“Right, I recognize you too. You were that book writer, lived at the keep. Soren, was it?” questioned Romeo.</p><p>“Yes!”</p><p>Soren turned to the group.</p><p>“Whatever you guys are thinking, drop it,” he said. “Romeo is completely telling the truth here.”</p><p>Magnus looked like he was inclined to disagree.</p><p>“Wait, so an Admin can be stripped of their powers?” Radar asked.</p><p>“Yes. Really difficult, but it is possible,” Romeo answered.</p><p>“So, what do we-”</p><p>“We need to get moving, now! Before Xara finds any excuse to come back down here!” Romeo insisted.</p><p>“Yeah, I guess we should keep moving,” Jesse agreed.</p><p>“Follow me,” Romeo instructed, before taking off into the maze. Jesse and the others right behind him.</p><p>As they continued on into the maze, Magnus approached Soren. Jesse listened into their conversation.</p><p>“Soren, I believe you have some explaining to do,” he said. “What was that? What are you playing at?”</p><p>“Believe me, Magnus. I know what I’m doing. I know you don’t exactly trust Romeo, but we’re going to need him if we’re going to defeat Xara,” reasoned Soren.</p><p>“Of course <em>you</em> would take <em>his</em> side, being all buddy-buddy with him!”</p><p>“It’s a long story, Magnus! One that I don’t think you’re ready for right now.”</p><p>“I just hope you’re not making a bad mistake trusting ANOTHER admin.”</p><p>Romeo suddenly stopped and held his hand out. At once, the purple colored spider-creepers and spiders appeared from above the walls.</p><p>“Stealing <em>my</em> concepts for yourself, Xara? Why does that not surprise me?” questioned Romeo.</p><p>“Gah, run!” Jesse screamed.</p><p>“Seriously, what’s with these monsters?! They’re all glowing!” Radar questioned.</p><p>They reached an opening, where they realized that they were completely surrounded.</p><p>“They’re pretty scary-looking, Jesse.”</p><p>“Then let’s be scarier,” Jesse responded.</p><p>The group of six engaged the mobs. Jesse took care of some zombies easily, before moving onto a spider, where Jesse and Romeo knocked a spider back and forth with their swords, eventually killing it.</p><p>“How many of these things are there?” Gabriel groaned.</p><p>“Never just one! Never!” Jesse repeated, as she climbed on a wall and took care of a zombie.</p><p>“Nice work!”</p><p>“Thanks, Gabriel.”</p><p>Gabriel and Jesse watched Romeo pulverize more mobs.</p><p>“Impressive,” Gabriel remarked.</p><p>Romeo did not respond, instead plunging his sword into a spider that was about to jump on him.</p><p>They continued fighting, with Magnus blowing up some mobs and Radar needing some help, until Jesse knocked a spider-creeper into the obsidian wall, creating a hole.</p><p>“Let’s get out of here!” Jesse called out.</p><p>“Nice shortcut,” Romeo appraised. “Come on!”</p><p>“I tell you what, that guy is as crazy as a hopped-up ocelot,” Radar remarked.</p><p>“Agree with ya there, squishy!” Magnus agreed.</p><p>They followed Romeo, into a dead end.</p><p>“No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!” Romeo panicked. “Th-the route’s changed! There- there has to be a way around!”</p><p>“Uhhh, Romeo? You all right there?” Radar asked, nervously.</p><p>“I... JUST...” Romeo let out a scream of anger. “SHUT YOUR CAKEHOLES AND LET ME THINK!”</p><p>“See! I told you we shouldn’t have trusted him. He’s got no idea where he’s going!” Magnus pointed out.</p><p>“<em>Let... me... think</em>!” Romeo snarled, glaring at Magnus.</p><p>“Think, or make something up?”</p><p>Romeo made a growling sound, prompting Jesse to step in on his behalf, diffusing the argument before it started.</p><p>“Aw, come on. He didn’t get lost on purpose!” Jesse defended.</p><p>“Finally, someone’s being fucking realistic here!” Romeo agreed. “Thank you, Jesse.”</p><p>Romeo looked up and saw a potential exit strategy.</p><p>“Wait! What the hell are we doing? All this time, we could’ve just built to the top of that wall.” Romeo said.</p><p>“And got to the other side that way! Yeah!” Radar finished.</p><p>“Sounds good to me!” Jesse said.</p><p>Radar, Soren, Gabriel and Magnus engaged the mobs while Romeo and Jesse dug up a pile of dirt and used it to build to the top of the wall.</p><p>Upon reaching the top, Jesse looked around, spotting a building in the distance.</p><p>“Oh, get fucked!” whispered Romeo.</p><p>“What are you-”</p><p>Romeo immediately covered Jesse’s mouth.</p><p>“Shut it, or you’ll wake that thing up!” Romeo growled.</p><p>Romeo pointed towards the center of a large gap in the maze, where Jesse saw a large three-headed ghast hibernating. But it was too late, for it had woken up and was now beginning to rise. Jesse froze in place, seeing the giant three-headed-ghast looming directly over her. It opened it’s three sets of glowing magenta eyes and stared right back.</p><p>“Oh fuck!” exclaimed Romeo, jumping back down to the others. “GET DOWN!”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>The giant ender-ghast charged up a fireball and sprayed it directly towards Jesse, who quickly ducked out of the way. It landed right on top of the ender-zombies that Radar was defending himself from, killing them instantly.</p><p>Jesse unsheathed her sword, feeling quite stupid for doing so. Bringing a sword to a giant mob fight? There were hundreds of cliched lines on this. As it charged another set of fireballs at her, she quickly tried to hit one back. When it appeared to work, that’s when she fully entered combat mode. She was going to take this thing down or die trying.</p><p>“A three-headed-ghast? Why would the Admin create that?” she exclaimed as she continued to hit fireballs right back at it. Eventually, it stopped and let off a huge screech, which to Jesse’s horror, attracted the attention of a whole horde of normal ghasts.</p><p>Again, Jesse continued to hit fireballs back until it gave out another huge screech, attracting even more ghasts. They all started to attack.</p><p>There was no way Jesse was going to stand a chance against them all standing still, so she took off into a run. While running, she used her sword to knock back the ender-ghast’s fireballs, while dodging the fireballs from the rest.</p><p>In a fit of rage, the ender-ghast started releasing fireballs in all directions, which was a bad move, as the ghasts now turned their attention towards the ender-ghast. They were starting to attack the big one.</p><p>After having a rain of fireballs sent back at it, the ender-ghast started retaliating, sending out huge waves of fireballs, killing the other ghasts one by one. In doing so, it revealed a glowing magenta spot on the top of its head - it’s weak point.</p><p>It just so happened that two ghasts had aligned towards it, which gave Jesse the opportunity to jump on them to reach the big ghast.</p><p>Leaping off the second ghast, Jesse dived and plunged her sword directly on top of the magenta weak-spot. The ender-ghast gave out a huge cry of pain, and Jesse pulled her sword out and plunged it in again.</p><p>After repeating a few times, hundreds of fireballs began pouring out of the ender-ghast towards the other ghasts, killing most of them. Just as the ender-ghast exploded, Jesse dived off of it, and landed back on the obsidian wall, striking a combat pose as the rest of the ghasts died around her.</p><p>“I… I… w-wow!” stammered Romeo. “I mean… fuck, that was…”</p><p>Jesse helped Soren up.</p><p>“Holy shit, Jesse, you’re a real terror!”</p><p>Looking at Romeo, Jesse saw that for the first time, he was looking at Jesse in wide-eyed awe and… was that envy?</p><p>“Excellent landing by the way, Jesse!” appraised Soren.</p><p>“Oh, that? It’s just my perfect reflexes and <em>photographic muscle memory</em>,” she said dramatically, quoting Jack.</p><p>Romeo pointed towards the building in the distance.</p><p>“There, that’s our ticket out of here,” he said.</p><p>“That is… sparkly,” commented Radar, mesmerized by it.</p><p>“Is that… diamond?” asked Gabriel.</p><p>“Follow me.” Romeo instructed.</p><p>They slowly climbed down from the top of the obsidian maze and followed Romeo’s lead once again.</p><p>“Look, Jesse. I’m sorry about before,” apologized Romeo. “I’m not a very trusting person anymore, not after what both Xara and Gordon did to me back at that detention facility, or whatever the fuck she’s calling it. Before you mentioned the Redstone Heart, I thought you were trying to have me on, get all buddy-buddy with me and then leave me in the shit, like Gordon did.</p><p>“It’s just, Xara never used to be like that. It just all happened out of the blue.”</p><p>“We’ve all suffered because of the Admin,” said Jesse.</p><p>“Some <em>have,</em> and if we don’t stop her, <em>will</em> suffer much worse,” added Romeo. “There’s something else I want to elaborate on. You know that <em>Fred</em> guy Soren mentioned? He was one of us, another Admin.”</p><p>“Where is he?” Jesse asked.</p><p>“He’s dead. It’s not a story I’m ready to share at the moment, but me and Fred were together when Xara revealed her true colors. She came in out of the blue... and killed him. It was so sudden and shocking, it wasn’t until I was already imprisoned that my mind fully processed what had happened.”</p><p>They reached the diamond building.</p><p>“Where’s the rest of it?” Gabriel questioned.</p><p>“Yes, how are we supposed to use this to escape?” questioned Magnus. “This doesn’t even go up to the ceiling.”</p><p>“We aren’t going up. We’re going down,” Romeo said.</p><p>“Down? There is no <em>down</em>. We’re standing on <em>bedrock</em> here!” Magnus protested. “You can’t go any further.”</p><p>“That’s the point. What we’re looking for, is below the bedrock,” Romeo said.</p><p>“Everybody knows there’s nothing under the bedrock!” Magnus continued to argue. “We’re <em>at</em> the bottom of the world.”</p><p>“We are not at the very bottom of the world!” Romeo reasoned. “Trust me, there is a whole lot more to see underneath the bedrock.”</p><p>Jesse remained silent. Magnus glared at Romeo, before slowly walking back into the maze.</p><p>“You know what? I’m done listening to him! I’d much prefer to go back in the maze than listen to any of that scam nuggets lies!”</p><p>“Magnus, wait!” Soren pleaded.</p><p>“No, Soren! He’s an Admin. An Admin was the reason we’re down here in the first place!”</p><p>“Remember, she took <em>my</em> admin powers away,” Romeo reminded. “Down there, lies a method to taking Xara’s powers away from her... forever! Fred and I discovered a few ways to do it.”</p><p>The monsters chose that time to show up.</p><p>“Jesse, help me get into this tower,” Romeo called out.</p><p>Jesse and Romeo broke the window panes on the side of the tower, revealing a set of steps coming out of darkness.</p><p>“This is it!” whispered Romeo. “After all these years, I’m finally going to take that bitch down!”</p><p>The mobs were really starting to gain on them.</p><p>“Now there’s a good reason to get a move on,” Jesse said, before jumping in. Romeo following. Soren, Gabriel, Magnus and Radar eventually followed too.</p><hr/><p>End of Act III.</p><hr/><p>Author’s Notes: Finally, that’s the end of that. This part of the story was torturous to write, but at least I pulled through. Next up is the underneath, one of my favorite parts of Canon. And just so you know, the story is going to get a whole lot more darker from now on. Darker than Canon.</p><hr/><p>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</p><p>More to follow.</p>
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<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Act IV - Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Act IV – Chapter 17</p><hr/><p>
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    <em>Trigger Warning: This chapter contains swearing </em>
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    <em>and depictions of violence</em>
  </span>
  <span>
    <em>. Reader discretion is advised.</em>
  </span>
</p><hr/><p>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</p><hr/><p><a id="docs-internal-guid-dd597813-7fff-45ae-876a-9fe5364df3b1" name="docs-internal-guid-dd597813-7fff-45ae-876a-9fe5364df3b1"></a> <em>The Admin – A villain who can crumble carefully laid out plans with the wave of her hand? How do you face a foe, who is always two steps ahead? Do you hide who you really are? Not everyone can face a madwoman head on. Some… join her.</em></p><p>
  <em>Others put on a brave face, even when they’re scared. But no matter what, encountering that kind of evil changes you. It can turn you into a hero…</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Or... something else.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If there’s a lesson to be learned, it’s be careful when you get close to an Admin.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You never know what might happen, if you dig too deep…</em>
</p><hr/><p>“Do we have everyone? Everybody safe?” asked Jesse as they reached the bottom of a set of stairs.</p><p>“Yes… unfortunately,” answered Magnus, sneaking a glare at Romeo. “Still can’t believe you’re trusting this scam nugget!”</p><p>Radar wasn’t having it though.</p><p>“He’s not some ‘scam nugget.’” he defended.</p><p>“Oh yeah? Need I remind you that he was an <em>Admin!</em>”</p><p>“Stop it! He’s really trying to help!”</p><p>“It’s okay! I get it!” Romeo spoke up, waving his hands. “I know you haven’t had the best history with Admins, I get that. But I am nothing like Xara Stewart. I’m not your enemy. Trust me, I want nothing more than to see her dead corpse. As long as you oppose her, you have nothing to fear from me.”</p><p>Magnus raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“In fact, my reasons for revenge are much more personal than yours. Here, let me show you why.”</p><p>Romeo gestured for them to follow before walking towards an opening of the dark room they were in. Looking out, Jesse saw what Romeo meant. There was a whole world down here, with a layer of bedrock covering the entirety of it. Thunder was roaring in the background as Jesse saw distant flashes of lightning.</p><p>“Wow, you were right,” Jesse remarked. “There’s a whole world down here.”</p><p>“The original world,” Romeo said. “Xara, Fred and myself used to live in it, before everything happened. This is the first time I’ve seen it since my imprisonment. She forced me to watch her bedrock over it all.”</p><p>“You, made this?” Radar questioned.</p><p>“Not the world, but the tower we’re in, Yes,” Romeo answered. “Or, what’s left of it, at least. The view used to be marvelous up here.”</p><p>“This is way worse than I imagined,” Jesse said. “That she’d do something like this to her own world. How did nobody know about this? It’s just been down here this whole time?”</p><p>“Yes, it shocked me too when Xara did it,” Romeo answered. “She fucking laughed at me when she did it too. I just hope that somebody’s still alive down here.”</p><p>“Xara?” Radar whispered into Jesse’s ear.</p><p>“The Admin,” Jesse said.</p><p>“Oh.”</p><p>Romeo jumped down, Jesse followed him, to see him standing still in shock. He looked as though he was on the verge of tears.</p><p>“This is the room where it happened,” Romeo whispered. “I witnessed it. Fred and I were… talking, when she came in and just…”</p><p>Romeo trailed off. Jesse tapped him on the back, in a comforting way.</p><p>“She needs to be stopped. That’s why we’re here. She hurt you, and she’ll hurt more people,” Jesse said.</p><p>Romeo nodded. “Yes, I wonder if she ever considered me and Fred friends once, or if she was manipulating us for her own gain right from the very beginning.”</p><p>They walked through a doorway.</p><p>“Now, we’re looking for a stick,” said Romeo. “This isn’t any old stick you’d get from wood. No, no. This stick has special properties, properties that are going to help us in defeating that bitch. I don’t exactly know where it might be, but I do know that Fred was the last person to have it. Problem being that I didn’t see it in his inventory when he died. I know of two possible locations.”</p><p>“And what are they?” Jesse asked.</p><p>“Fred’s Keep, which is South-East of here. Or our old cabin, which is in Romeoburg, to our south,” Romeo said. “Getting to the cabin will be harder, but Fred’s Keep is further away.”</p><p>A screech got Jesse’s attention.</p><p>“That sounded vaguely ominous,” Jesse said.</p><p>“Oh no,” Romeo whispered.</p><p>On the ground in-front of them, spawned a giant towering Enderman. It turned around, and upon seeing the group staring at it, screeched at them.</p><p>“That is the biggest Enderman I’ve ever seen,” Radar whimpered, backing away in fear.</p><p>The group retreated back through the doorway they came through and hid themselves.</p><p>“Xara,” growled Romeo. “WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU RELEASE THAT!?</p><p>“What!?” Magnus exclaimed.</p><p>“I liked to experiment with mobs, and it seems that Xara thought it’d be a hilarious idea to let it out of the lab that I kept it in,” Romeo explained.</p><p>The Enderman teleported right behind Jesse, forcing him to move.</p><p>“It would be great if I could go one day, just ONE DAY, without seeing something NEW AND COMPLETELY TERRIFYING!” Radar ranted.</p><p>“So that monstrosity is one of yours then,” said Gabriel, looking at Romeo with a slight glare.</p><p>“Time to move, guys,” Jesse instructed before Romeo could respond. They began to move, but the Enderman teleported again, freezing Soren in place. He was staring directly into its eyes.</p><p>“Hello, little beauty,” Soren cooed.</p><p>“NO, SOREN! NOT THE TIME FOR YOUR ENDERMAN OBSESSION! STOP STARING AT IT AND MOVE YOUR ARSE!” Romeo screamed.</p><p>Jesse stepped into action, grabbed Soren and dived before the Enderman could hit him.</p><p>“Sorry,” Soren apologized. “I just couldn’t help myself.”</p><p>“Go, go!”</p><p>“Going!”</p><p>They jumped off the floor before the Enderman could hit them. Jesse landed on her stomach, immediately being helped up by Gabriel.</p><p>“Thanks.”</p><p>The Enderman pulled a piece off of the tower they were on.</p><p>“It’s dismantling the tower!” Gabriel pointed out.</p><p>Jesse wasted no time in standing there. Instead, continuing to jump down to the bottom of the tower. They eventually reached the bottom and raced outside.</p><p>“The fastest way to Fred’s Keep and Romeoburg are by the minecarts, which start at the Oasis. But me, setting foot in there after what Xara did to me? Not a chance in hell!” Romeo said. “Follow me. This way is the quickest to reaching Romeoburg on foot, which is where we’re headed first.”</p><p>Jesse’s attention was caught by a figure disappearing out of sight in the distance.</p><p>“What? Did you guys just see…?” Jesse stammered.</p><p>“No time Jesse, we have to go,” Soren interrupted.</p><p>Jesse turned around and followed Romeo and the others. Eventually, after a lot of side-stepping and hiding, they reached an abandoned minecart track, which led to the outskirts of a town.</p><p>“Is this place safe?” Radar asked. “I mean, y’know, asking for the group.”</p><p>“No idea,” answered Romeo. “Some of my old citizens were quite… chaotic, to say the least. I just hope that they didn’t demolish Romeoburg entirely during my imprisonment.”</p><p>They approached the outer perimeter of Romeoburg, to see that it was heavily fortified. They also noticed a sound of what appeared to be hundreds of people fighting.</p><p>“That’s odd,” Romeo remarked. “I don’t remember Romeoburg being <em>that</em> chaotic.”</p><p>“HALT! You there! What business have you?” A female voice called out. Looking up, Jesse saw two figures. They had white mohawks, shabby looking armor and had black paint under their eyes. The figure on the left was light skinned while the figure on the right was dark skinned.</p><p>“Let me handle this,” Romeo whispered. “Val, Soup. It’s me, Romeo. Let us in.”</p><p>“Romeo?”</p><p>“Yes Val, it’s me,” Romeo answered. “Open the gate!”</p><p>“On it!” Soup said, running out of sight.</p><p>“No, Soup! The gate! Yeah, the real gate!” Val corrected.</p><p>“Right, on it!” responded Soup, switching directions.</p><p>The gate in-front of them opened up. They walked in, and saw a llama rolling on its back. It stepped up and sniffed Jesse out.</p><p>“I don’t remember this place being a wasteland,” Romeo commented.</p><p>“Yeah, uh, having a town where everyone enters a mysterious challenge room then never comes out will do that.” Soup responded.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Yeah, Soup is right,” Val agreed. “Do you even realize how deadly you’ve made your challenge? We’ve lost almost all of our population trying to get through it.”</p><p>“Shit,” whispered Romeo. “Did I not mention that it wasn’t for <em>you</em>? It was for Fred and Xara,”</p><p>“Uh no, you didn’t,” said Soup.</p><p>Romeo sighed. “That challenge, it’s near impossible. It contains six hundred stages.”</p><p>“What?!”</p><p>“Yeah, sorry. That’s why nobody returned,” said Romeo, looking guilty. “Anyhow, let me introduce you to my new friends. This is Jesse, Soren...”</p><p>Romeo paused upon looking at the others, having not caught their names.</p><p>“Ah yes, these three are Radar, Gabriel and Magnus,” Jesse finished introducing.</p><p>Soup stepped up to Magnus.</p><p>“Ooooh, I love your mask,” she complimented. “Griefer, by any chance?”</p><p>“Yup!” said Magnus, striking a pose.</p><p>“Back in a moment,” said Romeo, running off. “I’m gonna check something.”</p><p>“We have to keep moving,” said Jesse to the others. “No telling what the Admin is up to out there.”</p><p>“The Admin,” said Magnus. “I hate her. She reminds me too much of Ellie. And not the good stuff either. It’s like they took all of the bad things about her, made them a bazillion times worse and rolled them up into that purple freakshow.”</p><p>“Yeah, I bet Ellegaard would hate the Admin too,” said Jesse. “I bet she would say that the Admin ‘gives Redstone a bad name’.”</p><p>“Indeed,” agreed Gabriel.</p><p>“Well, I’m going to go check on Romeo,” said Jesse. “See you later,”</p><p>Jesse saw Romeo on his knees inside an adjacent building, staring at something inside. Upon reaching the building, Jesse stepped inside and approached him, but her attention was immediately grabbed by the poster.</p><p>She immediately recognized Xara on the left, in her purple colored glory, standing next to two other figures who Jesse didn’t recognize at first. She took a closer look and saw that the figure had a very familiar hair color. Jesse’s eyes widened as she realized who it was. It was Romeo, back when he was an Admin.</p><p>Admin Romeo had dark-grey skin, glowing yellow eyes with red sclera and his outfit was entirely black, with glowing neon red lines around it. His hair shined a bright red and a tidy slicked-back style, with a few bangs left hanging down on the right side of his head, vastly different compared to the current matted mess and faded red that Romeo’s hair sported now. He was staring directly ahead, and was smirking slightly.</p><p>The figure in the middle was large and dark blue with glowing cyan gems on his forehead and outfit. His hair was tied back into a bun, giving off a very approachable and peaceful vibe. Jesse assumed that this was Fred.</p><p>“Yep, that’s us,” Romeo finally spoke, startling Jesse. “That was not long after we first got our powers.”</p><p>“Wow, you three look so happy there,” Jesse commented.</p><p>“Makes me kinda sad,” said Soren, startling them both. When did he walk in? “I bet you guys were having loads of fun back then.”</p><p>“Yes, we were so naive back then too,” lamented Romeo. “Funny, Fred always had a thing for birch wood though, even before I even met him.”</p><p>Romeo eventually got up.</p><p>“We’re not going to defeat Xara by just staring at this poster though, come on.”</p><p>Romeo led Jesse and Soren back outside, where they regrouped with the other three.</p><p>“Your next destination is Fred’s Keep,” Romeo said. “His house there would be a good place to start looking for the Debug Stick,”</p><p>“Debug Stick?” repeated Soren. “Is that some kind of command-block type thing?”</p><p>“Not exactly,” said Romeo, beginning to unzip the top of his prison jumpsuit. “And I think it’s best for now that I don’t elaborate on what it does. Just know that what you’re looking for, is a normal stick but with an enchantment sheen on it.”</p><p>“Wait, you’re not coming?” asked Jesse.</p><p>“No. Me and Fred had a bit of a fight a few days before everything went to shit, and there’s a chance they may think I was the one who trapped them in this wasteland, and if so, I don’t think I’d be welcome there.”</p><p>Romeo slipped off the top of his prisoner jumpsuit and tied it around his waist, revealing a white tank-top underneath, similar to what Jesse was wearing.</p><p>“Go, get to Fred’s Keep, I’m going to stay here, fortify the place a bit, see if I can dismantle that challenge room sealing off the cabin and try to figure out a possible way to break through the bedrock. No promises on that last one though.”</p><p>“Okay, let’s head out.”</p><p>The group, minus Romeo, approached a set of minecarts just outside the main gates of Romeoburg.</p><p>“Fred’s Keep, here we come!” Jesse said as they hopped into the minecarts.</p><hr/><p>For most of the journey, the group travelled on in silence. Which was eventually disturbed by the giant Enderman teleporting in-front of them out of the blue as they were going over a pit near the Oasis.</p><p>“We’re fine! We’re okay, just as long as it doesn’t--”</p><p>It pulled off a piece of the track in-front of them.</p><p>“...do that.”</p><p>“Everybody jump!” yelled Jesse as she and everyone else leapt off of the minecarts as they were sent pummelling off of the tracks.</p><p>She caught hold of a cliff, and began to climb up, which was proving difficult as her footing kept slipping off of the gravel underneath her.</p><p>“Soren!”</p><p>Soren caught onto the cliff next to Jesse, finding himself in the same predicament as she was. He immediately slipped, but managed to catch himself on another part of the cliff before he could fall into the pit underneath them. He let out a scream.</p><p>A pig head appeared above them.</p><p>“You two are in a bit of a pinch, ain’t ya?” It taunted. “Smell like a couple of Admin lackeys to me. AKA, trouble!”</p><p>“Definitely smells like Admin,” ‘Creeper’ head agreed.</p><p>“You don’t know what an Admin smells like,” argued ‘Pig’ head.</p><p>“Sure do. Uh, kinda sulfur-y.”</p><p>“Don’t think that’s a word.”</p><p>“Magma… tastic?”</p><p>‘Pig’ head noticed Jesse’s stunned silence.</p><p>“Ocelot got your little slimy tongue? What’re you hiding?”</p><p>“Admin must not care about them too much,” said ‘Creeper’ head. “Otherwise he’d be popping in to save them, right?”</p><p>“Good point. We’ve been scavenging these lands since the darkness fell,” ‘Pig’ head explained. “You know what? We can sniff out an outsider when we… sniff one. So what’re you doing all the way down here, small fry? You lost?”</p><p>“Why I’m here is none of your business,” Jesse snapped.</p><p>“Fair enough, can’t be too careful down here. No tellin’ who might wanna kill ya,” ‘Pig’ head agreed. “Though the cliff you’re hanging off might do the trick first. Hahahaha!”</p><p>‘Pig’ head laughed in amusement, the other scavengers joining in.</p><p>“Maybe we help ya, maybe we just walk away, leave you here to die!”</p><p>“The first one!” pleaded Soren.</p><p>“I dunno… seems like a lotta work. Getting down there, pullin’ you up...”</p><p>“Ugh, my arms are tired!” one of the other scavengers complained.</p><p>“So tired.”</p><p>“I promise you, if you don’t help us… you’re going to regret it,” threatened Jesse.</p><p>“Ooh! Wasn’t that scary?” taunted ‘Pig’ head.</p><p>“Terrifying.”</p><p>“Gonna have nightmares!”</p><p>“I like the attitude! Takes guts, solid guts!</p><p>“Here’s the deal, folks. Down here, we don’t do anything for free! Can’t really blame us, what with the giant monsters and nothin’ growin’!” ‘Pig’ head explained. “So how ‘bout we take your inventory for a spin? Permanently!”</p><p>‘Pig’ head leaned in. “We’re really interested in any weaponry you may have?”</p><p>“Are you kidding me? Anyone without a weapon down here is as good as dead!” said Soren, starting to really struggle.</p><p>“Your friend doesn’t look like he’s gonna last much longer,” observed ‘Pig’ head. “What’ll it be?”</p><p>“Don’t do it, Jesse!” said Soren. “Those scavengers aren’t to be trusted! I know them, they gave Fred a lot of trouble back in the day!”</p><p>“Your swords,” continued ‘Pig’ head, ignoring Soren. “Or splat! Flatter than a lily pad at the bottom of this canyon?”</p><p>“Yeah! Splat!”</p><p>Jesse pulled out her sword and tossed it up to the scavengers. “Here!”</p><p>“And one more makes two.”</p><p>“Not happening!” snapped Soren stubbornly. “How do I know you won’t just drop us anyway!?”</p><p>The scaveners eventually made themselves into a human ladder for Soren and Jesse to climb up. Jesse climbed over to the scavengers, Soren grabbing onto her feet as the cliff underneath his feet gave way.</p><p>‘Pig’ head, being at the bottom of the human ladder, unsheathed the diamond sword and grinned menacingly.</p><p>And one more thing? Your friend there hasn’t thought through this one very well.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>A distant explosion went off behind them, followed by footsteps.</p><p>“Don’t go playin’ hero, squishies. World this dark’ll snuff out a light like you, real fast!”</p><p>“NO!”</p><p>The scavenger raised the sword and sliced directly through Jesse’s hand. <span>She</span> screamed, voice ricocheting through the air as she and Soren were sent plummeting down into the canyon. The grinning faces of the scavengers shrunk smaller and smaller…</p><p>“JESSE!” a distant voice screamed.</p><p>Jesse’s world went dark as a thud echoed through the canyon.</p><hr/><p>Author’s Note: Well, would you look at that? A cliffhanger. A <em>literal</em> cliffhanger. Told you that this story would get dark. Oh, and updates are back to Friday from now on.</p><hr/><p>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</p><p>More to follow.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Act IV - Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Act IV – Chapter 18</p>
<hr/><p><a id="__DdeLink__1071_2173052458" name="__DdeLink__1071_2173052458"></a> Trigger Warning: This chapter contains graphic descriptions of character injury. Reader discretion is advised.</p>
<hr/><p>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</p>
<hr/><p><a id="docs-internal-guid-84389fa0-7fff-a45e-d776-2c35c1cd2662" name="docs-internal-guid-84389fa0-7fff-a45e-d776-2c35c1cd2662"></a> <em>Ugh.</em></p><p>Pain… everywhere. That was immediately what came to mind when Jesse eventually came to. Ouch, her head felt like it was literally on fire.</p><p>“Jesse!” a voice she recognized as Soren called out. She looked up and saw the ginger crouching over her. “Thank heavens, You’re alive!”</p><p>“I… wha-” she stammered out, her head felt like it was on fire. “Oh god!”</p><p>“For a minute, I thought you were a goner!” Soren exclaimed. “I managed to get a bandage around the wound, and I’ve stopped the bleeding but please don’t freak out.”</p><p>Don’t freak out?</p><p>She raised her right arm, the pain most prominent there than other parts of her body. What she saw, nearly made her pass out again. Her forearm was covered in bandages, and her tank-top and prison pants were covered in a mixture of dried blood and dirt. Just above the bandages, but underneath the joint was a part of Soren’s guard uniform, which had been ripped off and tied around it tightly, like a tourniquet. But the most horrifying thing was not the bandages, nor the dried blood, but what had caused it.</p><p>Her right hand had been completely severed from the arm. As Jesse stared at the bandaged stump that had once been her right hand, her vision tunneled again and her consciousness slipped.</p><p>“Stay with me, Jesse...” Soren said softly.</p><p>As close as Jesse was to slipping back into unconsciousness, she knew that she had to stay awake. Only problem was doing so was proving to be tremendously difficult.</p><p>“That’s good Jesse, stay with me...”</p><p>But as much as Jesse tried, her strength failed her, and she slipped back into unconsciousness.</p>
<hr/><p><em>Damn</em>.</p><p>Though, Soren should not be too surprised. Jesse had lost an extreme amount of blood, there was no way she was going to stay awake for an extended period of time.</p><p>Although his make-shift tourniquet and the bandages had slowed the bleeding down immensely, he had no idea how long he had been out before he came to and found Jesse like that, so Jesse could have lost a lot more blood than he thought. Jesse was in danger of succumbing to blood-loss at any moment.</p><p>Luckily, they were pretty close to Fred’s Keep. After dragging Jesse out of that canyon, he carried her over his shoulders and rushed her to Fred’s Keep. The looks of shock that he got there were immense.</p><p>Although his friends Gabriel and Magnus were relieved to see them alive, Jesse’s intern – Radar wasn’t so relieved. When he saw the state Jesse was in, he had broken into huge hysterics. It wasn’t until Binta had helped Soren bandage Jesse up that Radar finally calmed down.</p><p>That was when Soren finally told Binta why they, along with Magnus, Gabriel and Radar were there.</p><p>“We’re looking for something that belonged to Fred,” he explained. “My sources tell me that it was supposed to be hidden in his home. Is it okay if I took a look inside?”</p><p>“Fred’s house is sacred. And locked. No one enters unless they win the contest,” said Binta. “No one. It’s how we honor Fred. Even I only enter through its doors on special occasions. Most of my townspeople have never even been inside.”</p><p>“Look... Binta, I really need to get inside,” Soren pleaded. “My friend is dying here, and the more I delay searching that house for what I’m after, the less chance she’ll have of making it. Please!”</p><p>“I understand wanting to help your friend,” said Binta. “But I can’t just let you in. The door is locked until the contest is won. No amount of arguing will change that.</p><p>“Fred built this place, made it safe from all the monsters out there. This is his legacy… his final request. I’m not breaking my promise to him.”</p><p>Soren glared at her. That was just perfect! Someone was in serious trouble, and yet they’re more concerned about honoring Fred’s legacy?</p><p>“You’re welcome to try your luck, Soren,” continued Binta. “See how well you remember Fred.”</p><p>“Okay,” sighed Soren. “If it’s the only way to get into that house, I’m game.”</p><p>“It’s about time!” a new voice said, in a snobbish tone. Soren saw a citizen he recognized as Kent step up next to him.</p><p>Binta called out to the rest of the Fred’s Keep citizens. “Attention, everyone! Let all Faithful Friends of Fred gather, for our competition begins now!”</p><p>As a crowd gathered around them, Soren followed Binta and Kent up the steps towards Fred’s house.</p><p>“Please welcome reigning champion, Kent!” announced Binta as Kent stepped out, to immense applause. “And we have a challenger – Soren!”</p><p>“That feeling of intimidation?” said Kent, mistaking Soren’s sudden uneasy look at the thought of Jesse as a sign of being intimidated. “Totally normal. I have that effect on people. Comes from being the best.”</p><p>“Tell me, Kent,” retorted Soren. “Do champions always have to sound so snobbish?”</p><p>“What a pinnacle of intellectual fortitude!” A citizen shouted.</p><p>“Kent! Be my best friend!”</p><p>“May the most faithful friend of Fred win,” challenged Soren.</p><p>“Oh, I will.”</p><p>“For our first question, I thought we’d mix it up a little,” Binta started off. A bunch of people delivered supplies to both Soren and Kent. “I challenge you to build a faithful representation of our dear Fred!”</p><p>“Yeah, Soren the Architect! GO! WOOO!” Magnus cheered.</p><p>“You’re busting my eardrums, Magnus!” Gabriel snapped.</p><p>“Begin!”</p><p>Soren and Kent took their items and proceeded to their building canvasses. Soren spent the next ten minutes building Fred’s head, using the poster and his memory as a reference. Eventually, Soren believed that it resembled Fred’s head quite accurately.</p><p>“Nice!” Soren remarked, doing a chef kiss gesture.</p><p>“Yes, yes, yes! Soren, it’s as if you’ve known Fred his whole life!” Binta commented.</p><p>“Not his <em>whole</em> life, but I did know him,” said Soren.</p><p>“W-what? How can you say that? That- that thing looks nothing like our fallen leader!” Kent protested, pointing an accusing finger at Soren’s build.</p><p>“Fred’s true spirit didn’t lie with his exterior, Kent, but what was underneath. This is his true essence!” Binta responded. “Though, I must give you points for accuracy. Such, painstaking detail.</p><p>“I declare this round, a draw!” Binta declared. “This was quite possibly the best presentation of Freds in the history of our competition.”</p><p>Soren looked behind him, and saw that Magnus and Gabriel were nodding approvingly.</p><p>“Now for the questions! Kent, you will go first,” Binta said.</p><p>“Of course!”</p><p>“Remember, you have a limited time to answer,” Binta reminded. “What was Fred’s favorite food?”</p><p>“Oh, that’s easy,” Kent responded. “Any truly faithful friend would know that Fred, enjoyed bread.”</p><p>Soren couldn’t help but notice that the two names rhymed with each other.</p><p>“Correct!”</p><p>“Now you, Soren. Fred was a loyal fan of the color blue, we all know that. But what kind of blue did he love the most?” Binta questioned.</p><p>“C’mon, Soren, you can do this,” whispered Radar.</p><p>“Lapis Blue!” Soren responded.</p><p>“That is correct! Well done,” Binta said.</p><p>“Same color as Ivor’s favorite,” Soren said under his breath.</p><p>“Next question.”</p><p>Binta turned back to Kent.</p><p>“Kent, Fred was a man of simple means. But he had one point of excess; his favorite tool. What was it?” Binta asked.</p><p>“A diamond hoe. Obviously!” Kent answered.</p><p>“Very good!” Binta said. “Soren, Fred had a constant companion. A fine feathery friend. What was that pet’s name?”</p><p>“A chicken?” questioned Magnus. “Not exactly my type.”</p><p>“Silence, please.” Binta interrupted.</p><p>“Fred’s pet? <em>Waffles,</em>” Soren answered. “For the way he used to waffle.”</p><p>Magnus burst out laughing at that remark.</p><p>“That… is correct!” Binta responded. “Soren, well done! I am... rather astounded that the competition continues to be this close. Kent, you might finally lose your title.”</p><p>Kent looked as though such a thing were the most horrific thing in the world. <em>Get over yourself, Kent. It’s just a title.</em></p><p>Binta gestured for Soren and Kent to move closer.</p><p>“Listen closely, both of you,” Binta instructed. “The final question is one that only the most faithful friend to Fred could possibly know. As such, it is worth double. Whoever answers this question correctly first, will win one night in Fred’s House.</p><p>“Of all the trees in the forest, of all the wood we once built our homes with, this was Fred’s favorite. What was it?” Binta questioned.</p><p>“Wait, what? No one knows that. Fred didn’t play favorites with resources,” Kent shot back.</p><p>Soren immediately remembered what Romeo told him back at Romeoburg.</p><p>“<em>Funny, Fred always had a thing for birch wood though, even before I even met him.”</em></p><p>“Birch wood! Birch! It was birch!” Soren exclaimed.</p><p>“You… yes! Yes! Birch was Fred’s favorite!” Binta happily confirmed.</p><p>Kent slowly lowered his head.</p><p>“That’s right! Soren won! Haha!” Radar celebrated.</p><p>Binta turned to Soren.</p><p>“Congratulations! That was very impressive. I’m sure I’m not the only one surprised by this turn of events,” Binta said. “As your prize, you will spend one night in Fred’s house. Be careful not to disturb its contents.”</p><p>Binta pulled out a blue colored outfit.</p><p>“And here are your sleeping garments. The true mark of Fred,” Binta offered. “Only the champion gets to wear these.”</p><p>“Oh, <em>yes!</em>” exclaimed Soren. “Puh-lease. Anything to get out of these filthy blood-stained clothes.”</p><p>Soren quickly discarded the dirty guard clothes as he slipped into the garments of Fred. As he did so, he watched Kent descend the stairs and fall onto his knees in disgrace. Binta led Soren towards Fred’s house.</p><p>“Soren, I hope you find what you’re looking for,” said Binta. “While you’re in there, I’m gonna keep an eye on your friend.”</p><p>“Thank you,” Soren said as he stepped inside. Now, he had a debug stick to find. If he were a special debug stick, where exactly would he be located?</p><p>Soren saw Fred’s bed and fought the urge to let himself free and jump on it. That would be highly disrespectful.</p><p>Soren approached a bookshelf and looked at the titles of some of the books in it. They varied from <em>The Foundation</em> to stuff like <em>The Life of a Cog and other Existential Builder Crises</em>. None of them were the debug stick. Ugh, this was Ivor’s laboratory all over again.</p><p>An open book on a desk got Soren’s attention.</p><p>‘<em>Brave New Enderman’ by Soren</em></p><p>Soren’s eyes widened as he picked it up.</p><p>“Wow, he kept this?” he whispered as he flicked through the pages. The book was about an Enderman who was afraid of the dark. All the bigger Endermen would taunt him and not let him play their Enderman games. He goes on an adventure, faces his fear and thus he was a brave new Enderman.</p><p>It was one of the first stories that Soren ever wrote. Maybe if they got out of this, Soren could re-write that story. Looking over it now, it was kinda short and lame.</p><p>Soren approached the doors at the back of the house, leading to what appeared to be a closet. Except it was bare, except for a suspicious looking button.</p><p>“Wonder if he’s hiding the stick in here?”</p><p>Soren pushed the button, causing the floor to drop to a lower level.</p><p>“I knew it, a secret room!”</p><p>Soren picked a torch off the wall, using it to light the room up.</p><p>“Where are you?”</p><p>Soren looked over more bookshelves, seeing nothing except for more books. One book that stuck out was a book called <em>The Survivors’ Book of Secrets</em>. He had a copy of that book himself, using some of it’s tips when he had to survive in the new world after the bedrocking.</p><p>Emptying a few chests, Soren found a few water buckets, which he put into his inventory. If worst comes to worst, he could use them against lava to generate obsidian and build a nether portal and use the nether to find the Order’s old railway system there. He also found an unmarked book. Interested, he took a read through it.</p><p>I know I had my doubts, but it was worth leaving home. I’m glad I had Xara and Romeo with me.</p><p>It was Fred’s old journal. He always liked to write things down. He flipped to another entry.</p><p>I don’t know what Romeo wants anymore. It hurts. Yesterday, he ended our friendship, because he believed I had been giving him the silent treatment and been forgetting about him. But the problem was, I just didn’t have time to communicate. Xara’s been keeping me so busy with stuff. What if Romeo is right? What if by letting Xara fill up my schedule like that, I am the reason he’s been acting like this? Maybe this town idea wasn’t that great after all. Maybe we should have never left the cabin. We weren’t just happy there, we were home.</p><p>Soren felt a sting of guilt go through him. He didn’t know that there had been a rift between the three Admins before everything went down. He stashed the book in his inventory, hoping to get a chance to ask Romeo about it later on, to hear his side of the story.</p><p>After continuing to search tirelessly, Soren was forced to accept that the debug stick wasn’t here. <em>Great. </em>Jesse had lost her hand for nothing. He returned to the upper level of Fred’s house, and returning to the door, he was greeted by Binta outside.</p><p>“Binta!” greeted Soren. “How’s Jesse?”</p><p>“Your friend is doing fine for the moment. We’ve wrapped another layer of bandages around the wound, and she woke up just a few minutes ago.”</p><p>“She did?”</p><p>“Yes, she was rather shocked about the whole <em>missing hand</em> thing, but other than that, she seems to be recovering well… physically.”</p><p>Wow, so maybe the blood-loss wasn’t as severe as Soren had thought. Good to know.</p><p>“But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”</p><p>“Really?” asked Soren.</p><p>“How did you know the answer to that last question?” Binta asked. “It’s not common knowledge, and it was shared with me in great confidence before...”</p><p>“Romeo told me.”</p><p>The words had escaped him before he knew what he was saying. Several citizens from behind Binta gasped. Binta’s eyes darkened.</p><p>“What?”</p>
<hr/><p>Author’s Notes: So, Jesse has a huge wound, and Soren has gone and accidentally revealed something.</p><p>Also, to clear up a few things, let’s not forget that Jack had scars, and in regular MCSM, did have the possibility of losing his eye in the sea-temple, and one of the prisoners in the Sunshine Institute also had a claw-shaped device instead of a hand, so Jesse losing a hand shouldn’t be too implausible.</p>
<hr/><p>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</p><p>More to follow.</p>
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<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Act IV - Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Act IV – Chapter 19</p><hr/><p><a id="__DdeLink__1071_2173052458" name="__DdeLink__1071_2173052458"></a> Trigger Warning: This chapter contains graphic descriptions of character injury. Reader discretion is advised.</p><hr/><p>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</p><hr/><p><a id="docs-internal-guid-e06f743b-7fff-ab0c-88c0-9af20e19720e" name="docs-internal-guid-e06f743b-7fff-ab0c-88c0-9af20e19720e"></a> “<em>What?</em></p><p>Soren froze, immediately realizing what he had just said was a huge mistake. Too late now. “Yes, Binta, Romeo was the one who told me the answer to that question.”</p><p>“I haven’t heard that name in…” Binta stopped and glared at Soren with increasing intensity. “Get out.”</p><p>“Binta, you have-”</p><p>“I SAID GET OUT!” Binta screamed, pointing towards the destroyed bridge that once connected the island Fred’s Keep was on to the rest of the land.</p><p>“Binta, I assure you, it was not Romeo who did all this to you, it was Xa-”</p><p>“Admitting you’re working for him, and lying to me? You’re not a faithful friend of Fred!” interrupted Binta. “My people were right about you, they said you were dangerous. Not surprising, considering you brought an injured person into our keep and demanded to enter Fred’s house! They say you’ve been above the bedrock.”</p><p>Binta opened the doors and led the way back outside the house, Soren following.</p><p>“Your friend Gabriel spoke of all these lands we’ve never heard of,” she continued. “I’m beginning to think they’re true. And if they are… that can only mean trouble. You’ve already caused quite a bit of it.”</p><p>“Binta, will you please listen to me?” pleaded Soren. “We’re not here to hurt you or your people.”</p><p>“Pain is not always intentional,” said Binta. “Did you at least find what you were looking for? This… <em>weapon</em>? Go on, tell me.”</p><p>“I’m afraid I’m going to need you to help me here, Binta.”</p><p>“You must be joking, to ask something of me <em>now</em>? After you told me that you were buddy-buddy with Romeo? The one who trapped us all down here?!”</p><p>Soren pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.</p><p>“Did Fred tell you about any kind of debug stick?” asked Soren. “That is the weapon that we are after.”</p><p>“Romeo? Did they say Romeo?!” a citizen nervously asked.</p><p>“The Admin…?”</p><p>“Yes, Romeo,” said Soren. “And he’s down here right now. No, he’s <em>not</em> the Admin. It is <em>Xara</em> who you are all thinking of here, she was the one who did all this to you, not him.”</p><p>“Just… stop talking,” snapped Binta. “You understand, I have no reason to help you right now.</p><p>“But if you’re telling the truth, and that’s a mighty big <em>if</em>, there’s something I would take in exchange,” she said. “Get me and my people above the bedrock, if Romeo is really down here and if he is as <em>innocent</em> as you say he is, surely he must be trying to find a way to help us.”</p><p>“Above?” a citizen questioned. “Binta, what are you saying? We don’t know what’s out there.”</p><p>“It has to be better than this.”</p><p>“We’re safe here, and if Romeo--”</p><p>“Romeo, Xara or whoever it is trapped us down here. They want us to stay, I won’t give them the satisfaction.”</p><p>“They won’t like us going up there.”</p><p>“Look, Binta, as much as I want to help you, you shouldn’t get your hopes up yet. Romeo <em>is</em> trying to get us out of here, but we have no idea just how he’s going to do that, if it’s even possible.”</p><p>“A chance is better than nothing,” Binta said, determined.</p><p>“Might need to do a bit of convincing though,” said Gabriel piping up, hauling a pale-looking Jesse up the stairs. Getting a good look at her, Soren saw the fresh layer of bandages over her right stump, as well as her prison clothing being absolutely drenched in dirt and blood.</p><p>“Let me worry about that,” said Binta. “The trees on this island have kept the monsters from spawning, and we’ve been safe here so far… but it won’t last. Our only chance for a real future is up there.”</p><p>“Romeo’s trying to find a way to get us up, if you want to try and escape with us, meet us at Romeoburg,” Soren instructed. </p><p>Binta took the compass from above her right leg and held it out. “Fred left this to me before he--”</p><p>Binta started to sob. Again, Soren felt anger at Xara. All these people abandoned because some sadistic freak had gotten too powerful.</p><p>“The needle points home, when he didn’t come back, I tried to follow it but got stopped at the gates to Romeoburg,” explained Binta. “You said that you had come from Romeoburg, so I’m sure you would have dealt with the army that had been there. Keep it safe, treat it with more care than your loose tongue.”</p><p>“No need, you hang onto it. I have a feeling that Romeo will be able to lead us right to where that needle is supposed to be pointing, but thank you anyway.”</p><p>“Still, Fred would have wanted me to help you,” said Binta, reluctantly replacing the compass back into its place above her right leg. “I’ll prepare my people, you take these.”</p><p>Binta handed Soren a firework. “Signal us when you’re ready, and we’ll be there.”</p><p>Magnus and Radar rejoined Soren, Gabriel and Jesse. </p><p>“Good, you’re here. We’re headed back to Romeoburg,” said Soren. “Are you sure you’re feeling up for the trip back Jesse?”</p><p>“Y-yeah,” she said, her voice weak. “My a-arm. It h-hurts,”</p><p>“I know,” Soren responded. “You’re doing great, Jesse. But how about you stay here and get some more rest,”</p><p>“W-what? N-no! I-I’m not giving up that e-easily!” Jesse protested.</p><p>“But Jesse, your arm…” Radar tried to reason.</p><p>“I’m not l-letting that stop me!”</p><p>“Okay, Jesse. Your call,” said Soren, shrugging. “Let’s go.”</p><p>Soren led the way out of Fred’s Keep, and they made tracks back to Romeoburg.</p><hr/><p>They didn’t talk much for the first part of the trip, that was until they stopped the minecarts at the gap where the giant Enderman had taken off with a piece of the track. Grinding the carts to a halt, the gang slowly made their way backwards out of the carts, before Soren gave them a kick off the edge.</p><p>“Okay, the gap isn’t too large, I think we can jump across.”</p><p>Soren did a run-up and easily managed to jump to the other side, almost losing his balance in the process. He was followed by Gabriel and Magnus, leaving Radar and Jesse on the other side.</p><p>“Radar, y-you have to jump,” instructed Jesse. “I’ll follow you.”</p><p>“But, I don’t want to fall!” he whimpered.</p><p>“It’s okay, Radar!” yelled Soren. “I’ve got you.”</p><p>Nervously, Radar let out a scream as he leapt over the gap, being caught by Soren who stabilized him quickly. Now, it was Jesse’s turn to jump the gap. Going to be difficult with the condition she was in, but her strength was getting better than it was.</p><p>She took a deep breath, took two steps back, jumped and would have botched the landing had Soren not grabbed her by her left arm.</p><p>“Gotcha! There, there you go!” groaned Soren as he pulled Jesse back up into the suspended beam with the railway tracks.</p><p>“T-thanks!” panted Jesse.</p><p>They continued onward a bit more, relieved as the tracks led off the canyon and onto solid ground. However, as they got closer to Romeoburg, they saw something that was not there last time. The tracks had been broken up by a newly formed crater.</p><p>“This wasn’t here before,” said Gabriel. “Hmm. Apparently we’re not- GET DOWN!.”</p><p>Gabriel dived out of the way of an incoming splash potion of slowness, landing right in the spot where he was just standing. It affected everyone except himself and Jesse. “We... we got company!”</p><p>Jesse looked around, and saw a figure standing stiffly still in the distance. It was wearing greyish-blue colored armor with lapis blue and gold gems and was wearing a mask which covered it’s head. It suddenly lurched into action and pulled out a diamond sword. Jesse was promptly knocked down by Gabriel, who pulled out his own sword and went on the defense.</p><p>“Stay out of the way, Jesse, I’ve got this,” he said. “Come on then! SHOW ME WHAT YOU’VE GOT!”</p><p> The figure sprinted towards Gabriel, and aimed a blow at him, which he ducked with ease.</p><p>“Too slow!” Gabriel taunted.</p><p>The figure immediately pulled out a greenish-grey potion and threw it down, creating a cloud of dust, before sprinting off, out of sight. Gabriel started coughing.</p><p>“W-where are you?” he snarled, still coughing.</p><p>The figure suddenly launched into the air behind Gabriel.</p><p>“GABRIEL, LOOK OUT!” screamed Jesse.</p><p>Gabriel managed to dodge just in time, which would have been impossible had Jesse not shouted. He and the figure engaged in a brawl, which ended when Gabriel gave him a hard kick, knocking him to the ground. Before the figure could get back up, Gabriel grabbed him and pulled him into a headlock.</p><p>“Gotcha! Now to see who you really are!”</p><p>Gabriel placed a hand on the mask, tearing it away from the assailant’s face with a yell. Immediately, Jesse’s ears were filled with an ear-splitting static sound, which immediately brought on a massive headache. But what Jesse saw, almost made her faint on the spot.</p><p>It was Ivor, except he had a blank expression on his face. Looking closely, she saw that his eyes were blood red, his irises glowing in the dim light. Gabriel let Ivor go immediately, his hands flying to his ears.</p><p>“IVOR--!? H-HIS EYES!”</p><p>Jesse took a step back, looking at Ivor in confusion. The red eyes, the blank stare… He had been chipped, hadn’t he - but <em>how?</em> PAMA had been taken down years ago; Jesse remembered that all too well. </p><p>Ivor took advantage of the situation, kicking Gabriel to the ground and pressing a shoe against his back. While Ivor's back was turned, Jesse saw a blinking device on the back of his head, which confirmed that he was indeed chipped.</p><p>“Ack! J-JESSE! GET… GET HIM… OFF… ME!” Gabriel yelled, flailing helplessly as Ivor pressed his foot harder against Gabriel’s back. </p><p>“WHAT DO WE DO!?” screamed Radar. The splash potion had worn off.</p><p>“DO ANY OF YOU HAVE A WATER BUCKET!?” Jesse asked.</p><p>“WHAT?!”</p><p>“I DO!” yelled Soren. “HERE!”</p><p>“POUR IT ON HIM!” Jesse yelled, pointing at Ivor. Soren didn’t think twice about it, pulling the bucket from his inventory and splashing it against Ivor. </p><p>An expression of fear etched on Ivor’s face upon seeing the bucket, but it was far too late. Ivor fell backward, body twitching as the chip on the back of his head popped off like a cork from a champagne bottle, steam rising from his head.</p><p>“T-thanks!” gasped Gabriel, slowly crawling his way to his feet. “I… I need a moment.”</p><p>Ivor lay still for a moment longer, before eventually opening his eyes and coughing. Jesse was relieved to see they were back to normal.</p><p>“J-Jesse?” Ivor questioned, slowly getting to his feet. “Soren? Gabriel? Magnus?”</p><p>“Ivor,” greeted Soren.</p><p>Ivor stopped as he noticed Jesse’s right arm. “Your hand, Jesse!”</p><p>Jesse immediately tensed up. Soren, seeing Jesse in distress, stepped in on her behalf.</p><p>“We ran into a group of scavengers before, and they were the ones who did this.”</p><p>“And you didn’t try and find her hand, to try and reattach it?” Ivor asked in disbelief.</p><p>“I can’t just <em>find</em> something that isn’t there, Ivor! The scavengers were left with it, of course I couldn’t put it back!”</p><p>“Well wait there for a moment, I’ve got something that can help,” Ivor dug into his inventory and pulled out a red potion of healing. “Here, drink this - It’ll close the wound and help ease the pain… though, it can’t help with giving your hand back; <em>that</em> is permanent, I’m afraid.”</p><p>The expression on Ivor’s face was the most serious that Jesse had ever seen him. “We have a big problem.”</p><p>As Jesse drank the potion, Soren piped up again. “Ivor, what’s going on?”</p><p>“Let me explain,” said Ivor, launching into his story. “Years ago, me, Jesse, Lukas and Petra went on an adventure into the portal network, and we landed in this mesa biome. At first it seemed empty, but then we realized something was wrong. We found out that the place had been controlled by a computer named PAMA.</p><p>“Jesse managed to defeat it though, but not without resistance; it captured her friends, so we had to rescue them first. After that, we went into PAMA’s core and pulled out his Redstone Heart, and saved Crown Mesa.”</p><p>Soren looked at Jesse with approval.</p><p>“But while Harper and I were on our vacation, I fell through a portal into some sort of strange world. Everything was all white… Master Shadow’s domain. He claimed he was a ninja master, a practitioner of the <em>Shadow Arts</em>. At first, I wanted nothing to do with him, he was a very suspicious character. But eventually, after a lot of uncomfortable eye contact, he asked me, <em>me</em>, to be his pupil!</p><p>“I was confused at first, because he didn’t exactly present his credentials or curriculum, but I was always open to learning! I’m a student of life after all, so I said <em>yes!</em> Before I knew it, I was punching trees, cleaning floors… all as part of my so-called <em>training</em>. At first, it seemed pointless, but after I had punched a forest’s worth of trees and cleaned miles and miles of floor, two things became clear.</p><p>“Sometimes, doing menial tasks can be an amazing way to learn martial arts, and sometimes… strange old men just like tricking people into doing their housework.”</p><p>“Okay, as much as I’m enjoying listening to your backstory here, can we please move it along?” asked Soren, hand meeting the bridge of his nose in annoyance.</p><p>Ivor simply gave Soren a glare, before continuing.</p><p>“But as me and Harper were beginning to leave, mobs began to teleport in, all around us. We were confused at first, only Endermen were known to be able to teleport, but when we saw their glowing eyes… that’s when I knew something was terribly wrong.”</p><p>Ivor faced away from them.</p><p>“PAMA’s been reactivated…”</p><p>Jesse took a step back, eyes widening in shock. “Wh-What?!” She gasped, arms shaking in fear.</p><p>“Yes, and this time, we’re too late, PAMA’s already begun spreading to other worlds, using this new <em>teleport</em> ability that he’s acquired,” relayed Ivor.</p><p>Jesse’s gut dropped as she remembered what Xara had said to her before sending her to the Ironguard Detention Facility, the words echoing all too loudly in her head..</p><p>“<em>You see, sitting in your filthy disgusting treasure room, is a rather valuable Redstone Heart of mine…”</em></p><p>Soren gasped, the memories just as vivid in his own mind - with an all new realisation to them,</p><p>“<em>...which I’d like back, but with you in the picture, things could get complicated. So I built this place as a distraction, to play with you for a bit, before I remove you completely.”</em></p><p>“Oh no,” whispered Soren. “Oh no!” His hands clutched at his shirt, fear coursing through him. “You say PAMA was powered by the Redstone Heart, right? What if…”</p><p>Soren’s eyes widened considerably.</p><p>“...What if that’s why Xara wanted the heart? To reboot PAMA?”</p><p>Jesse’s stomach rapidly filled with dread. <em>Her friends… they could very well be in the same position as Ivor… </em>she thought, eyes widening. She felt dizzy, like she was going to fall over.</p><p>"But if Ivor had already been chipped..." Radar squeaked. "D-Doesn't that mean she's already won?"</p><p>“Not yet,” said Ivor. “As far as I know, Harper managed to get away… and with my brain sharing PAMA’s thoughts while I was chipped, I found out that PAMA has this idea that Harper may be here, in this world.”</p><p>“Either way, we need to move… now. Romeo needs to know what’s going on,” said Soren.</p><p>Jesse took a deep breath, straightening herself and shaking her head. “Ivor, I want you to go back to Fred’s Keep, tell them that we sent you, and tell them about PAMA. Explain to them that it is not safe for them to come back up with us yet. We’ll race back once we find what we’re looking for.”</p><p>“Please hurry, PAMA will know that I’ve been freed from his control, and there’s no telling how he’ll react to that. Get whatever it is you’re looking for and do it soon,” pleaded Ivor. “SMOKE BOMB!”</p><p>Ivor took out another smoke bomb and threw it down, disappearing within the smoke. Jesse ran in and coughed. Turning around, she saw Ivor standing in a pose a short distance away. He gasped upon seeing that Jesse noticed him.</p><p>“You saw nothing,” he said as he backflipped out of sight.</p><p>“Come on!” said Soren, racing off and gesturing for the others to follow, getting back on course for Romeoburg.</p><hr/><p>Author’s Notes: Forgot to thank a friend of mine, attackatosh for looking through and proof-reading my work. I also want to credit him, which I forgot to do in the last chapter, as it was his idea for Jesse to lose a hand.</p><p>Anyhow, so that was why Xara was after the Redstone Heart.</p><hr/><p>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</p><p>More to follow.</p>
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<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Act IV - Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Act IV – Chapter 20</p><hr/><p><a id="__DdeLink__1071_2173052458" name="__DdeLink__1071_2173052458"></a> Trigger Warning: This chapter contains swearing and graphic descriptions of character death. Reader discretion is advised.</p><hr/><p>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</p><hr/><p><a id="docs-internal-guid-e0119cd3-7fff-a587-b444-9957e2c0ea40" name="docs-internal-guid-e0119cd3-7fff-a587-b444-9957e2c0ea40"></a> Their legs ached as they finally concluded their mad dash to Romeoburg. Val and Soup, having seen the group approaching, opened the gates and allowed them to enter.</p><p>"Where's Romeo?!" Soren asked, breathless as they sprinted inside. Romeo, running out at the sound of his own name, reached out to catch the falling man as the others looked at him.</p><p>"You're back, good..." Romeo said, eyes widening as he saw the bandages on Jesse's hand. "Wh... what happened to your hand?!"</p><p>“Got shaken down by a few scavengers and they wounded her,” explained Soren. “We did patch her up, so don’t worry about it. We looked through Fred’s Keep for the stick, bu-”</p><p>“Did you find it?”</p><p>“No,” said Soren. “And we’ve got more bad news.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“We found out what Xara was planning to do with the Redstone Heart,” said Jesse. “She’s rebuilt PAMA.”</p><p>Romeo raised an eyebrow in confusion. “PAMA? What’s that?”</p><p>Jesse nodded. Right, of course he wouldn't know about PAMA... She began to explain her adventure to Crown Mesa, about PAMA in particular - He was a supercomputer built from redstone, originally created to make mobs useful... before going rogue, and getting too good with his abilities. As she explained, Romeo began pacing, expression growing darker and darker. Jesse finished her story by relaying Ivor’s message about how Xara had begun to "chip" people on the surface - and, as Jesse presumed, other worlds too.</p><p>Romeo’s head began to shake, his eyes dark in a silent fury, before his body became completely still, hands grabbing at his hair as his breathing grew labored and heavy. </p><p>“DAMN HER, I DON’T BELIEVE THIS SHIT!” He roared explosively, pulling on his hair as his head tilted back. His body quaked as he fell to his knees. “We… he tried to warn... n-no....” </p><p>He got up to his feet, knuckles white as his fists rested at his sides. “Are you absolutely sure of this, Jesse?”</p><p>“Yes, she sent one of our chipped friends down here to try and kill us,” said Jesse.</p><p>“Shit! Then we need to get to the cabin, <em>now</em>,” Romeo turned to Val and Soup. “Lock down the gate, do not let <em>anybody</em> in.”</p><p>Both nodded in understanding and raced to the gate, quickly shutting it down tight.</p><p>“Unfortunately I couldn’t take the challenge room down,” he said. “But I do know of a way that can easily get us past it.”</p><p>“Oh, and what’s that?” asked Soren.</p><p>“I programmed a manual override in the system that will skip it straight to stage six hundred. Once we’re on that stage, we simply need to complete it, and that’ll be it.”</p><p>Romeo led the group towards the challenge room, the main doors opening as they approached it. Inside, they descended some stairs into what appeared to be an arena.</p><p>“The cabin is just past that door,” said Romeo. “To open it, we need to beat stage six hundred. First, let me walk you through on how to get the challenge started.”</p><p>They reached the bottom of the stairs, and saw three levers, each accompanied with blue, red and purple sets of wool behind them.</p><p>“To switch it on, we need to flip these three levers in a window of three seconds,” explained Romeo. “I’ll take Xara’s lever, Jesse, you take my lever and Soren, you take Fred’s. The rest of you, prepare yourselves.”</p><p>“Here we go,” said Jesse as she, Romeo and Soren flipped the levers.</p><p>“<em>Welcome challengers; Xara, Fred, and… me! Romeo!</em>” Romeo’s voice echoed around the arena, coming from a placement of jukeboxes. It had the same hint of arrogance, pompousness, confidence and robotic autotune that Xara’s voice had when she spoke about her Redstone Palace.</p><p>“I intended this for Fred, Xara and I to complete using our powers,” the real Romeo explained.</p><p>“<em>Are you ready for the most thrilling, death-defying, heart-pounding challenge, you’ve ever experienced?” </em>Romeo’s voice asked, with a chuckle. “<em>Stage One; Begin!</em>”</p><p>A machine popped up out of the ground, creating a set of magma golems and magma cubes using pistons.</p><p>“Okay, I’m going to climb up there, activate the manual override, and skip us to stage six hundred.” Romeo said, handing Jesse his diamond sword. “What you need to do, is just to use the pressure plates to turn those things into cobblestone.”</p><p>“Got it!” Jesse responded, nodding.</p><p>“Then let’s go!”</p><p>Jesse and the others engaged the mobs while Romeo maneuvered himself on top of the machine, being careful to not burn his feet by the magma blocks on it. Jesse’s lack of a right hand didn’t slow her down too much, as not only had Ivor managed to heal the stump, but she was ambidextrous too, which meant she simply used the sword with her left hand.</p><p>“<em>Ooh, wow. What a showdown, folks!</em>” Romeo’s pre-recorded voice commented as Jesse used the pressure plates to cover the mobs in water, turning them into cobblestone. “<em>We’re having the time of our lives, aren’t we?</em>”</p><p>Jesse drenched the golem in water by luring it onto a pressure plate, turning it to cobblestone too.</p><p>“<em>Congratulations, challengers! Stage one, of six hundred! Haha, complete!</em>” Romeo’s voice congratulated, with a laugh very similar to Xara’s.</p><p>Eventually, Romeo reached the three levers on top of the machine. He started flipping the levers in a certain pattern.</p><p>“Got it!” Romeo called out.</p><p>“<em>STAGE TWO, ANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN-</em>” Romeo’s voice shortened out.</p><p>“Get ready guys,” Romeo said, jumping down and rejoining them. “This is going to get super dangerous, super quickly.”</p><p>“<em>Now, prepare yourselves for, ahem. STAGE SIX HUNDRED!</em>” Romeo’s voice announced as a giant flaming hand reached out of the opening pit in-front of them. A giant magma golem pulled itself out of the pit. Everyone backed away as it shot a series of fire-charges at them. “<em>I see your smiles.</em>”</p><p>“Wow, my past self really <em>was</em> a dick,” Romeo said flatly.</p><p>“<em>Now, now, I’m not a monster. There is a crafting table nearby,</em>” Romeo’s pre-recorded voice continued as he burst into maniacal laughter.</p><p>“You have a twisted way of playing with your friends,” said Radar, staring at Romeo with narrow slits for eyes.</p><p>“Ignore my egotistical past self and focus on removing the arms of that golem,” Romeo instructed. “Once you do that. I’ll use the TNT I picked up from Gordon.”</p><p>Jesse spent the next two minutes luring the golem near the pressure plates, where Jesse turned its arms into cobblestone. Once Jesse did that to both arms, Romeo stepped in, holding a block of TNT.</p><p>“HEY, FUCKWIT! GOT A PRESENT FOR YOU!” he bellowed, placing the TNT down and igniting it. While the TNT was flashing, Romeo picked it up and tossed it at the golem. “CATCH!”</p><p>Romeo turned around, grabbed Jesse, while the others immediately raced away from the golem as the TNT exploded, causing the entire floor around the golem to cave in, which sank into a bed of water.</p><p>“<em>Oh! You’ve done it! Oh, yes! The power of our friendship prevails!</em>” Romeo’s voice celebrated as the golem slowly sank underneath the water, the glow in its eyes flicking off. Fireworks shot up around the arena.</p><p>“WOO! HAVEN’T HAD THAT MUCH FUN IN YEARS!” exclaimed Magnus.</p><p>“Now, let’s get to that cabin,” gestured Romeo as he led them through the now open door.</p><p>They descended some stairs, before finding themselves in another giant room, with a cottage in the middle of it. Looking up, Jesse saw that it was covered in its own layer of bedrock. There were lamps shining everywhere, keeping the place alive.</p><p>“Wow, this is the first place down here that looks… alive,” commented Jesse.</p><p>“That was my doing, Jesse,” Romeo said, unlatching the gate and opening it. “I was here briefly after Fred’s death, I wanted to pay my respects, and I wanted this place to be preserved, so when I left to go fight Xara, I sealed it off with my own layer of bedrock, alongside some lamps so that nothing down here dies from lack of sunlight.”</p><p>Romeo slowly approached a tree made out of birch. Next to it, stood an oak sign, with the text</p><p>For Fred</p><p>“Fred,” he began, kneeling down. “If you can hear me, I want you to know that I am truly sorry for everything… for what I said to you, for what I almost did to you... and I also want to apologize… for failing you. I failed to defeat Xara last time. I want you to know that no matter what, I am going to do whatever it takes to honor your memory. And when I find that purple bitch, there will be hell to pay from her. Oh <em>yes, </em>she will pay... <em>dearly</em>.”</p><p>Romeo stood up and approached Jesse and Soren.</p><p>“Come on, let’s not waste any more time. Time to search that cabin.”</p><hr/><p>Romeo, Jesse and Soren stepped inside the cabin. Looking around, Romeo saw the old banners that he and his friends once put up there, still hanging as though no time had passed. One of them was purple, representing Xara, the second was blue, representing Fred and the third was red, representing himself. To the right, next to the window, Romeo saw an old portrait of Fred in his Admin Form, standing in-front of a farm. </p><p>The rest of the house had items strewn about, leaving it in a messy state. Seems nobody’s been here since Romeo created that mess while searching for his enchantment book, before bedrocking over the cabin. He saw Jesse lean over and pick a book up.</p><p>“I remember I used to read all the time, now I barely do,” she lamented. She placed the book back into it’s spot on the bookshelf.</p><p>“Things change,” answered Romeo, noticing Soren flinching as he said that.</p><p>“Yeah,” agreed Jesse, staring at an old practice dummy. “It’s like the one we used to have, back at the treehouse, until <em>Petra</em>, a friend of mine, broke it.”</p><p>Romeo chuckled slightly.</p><p>“This place is a mess, what happened here?” asked Soren.</p><p>“Oh, yeah. When Fred died, I was in a rush to find something I had left here. Now, if the debug stick is here, it isn’t going to be out in the open. If I know Fred, he would have hidden it far too well. Try looking in places that a regular burglar wouldn’t even consider digging through.” Romeo said.</p><p>“Got it.”</p><p>While the others worked on looking for hiding places, Romeo simply stood there, staring at his old banner, which had his old admin logo on it. It consisted of a series of four bones, placed together to make an X shape, along with five dots, four on each side, one in the middle. Even now, Romeo still loved that design of his.</p><p>He was brought out of his thoughts by Jesse, who appeared to have found something. “Romeo, you’re going to want to read this.”</p><p>Romeo and Soren raced over, Romeo taking the book from Jesse, opening it and reading its contents aloud.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>Dear Xara,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If you’re reading this, I’m already gone. I hid this in the one place I knew you would look for it. Fitting the key to ending all this would be here… where it all started.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>This is the key to defeating Romeo…</em>
</p><p>
  <em>#POTATO451</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Take this word of passage and use it at the primary terminal. You can take away his power and end this.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I still have hope for Romeo. He just wanted us to stay together… more than anything. I know that’s why he’s doing this. Maybe I’m being foolish, but I need to know for sure before taking this step. Though I guess if you’re here, I got my answer.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Maybe someday we’ll be together again.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Your friend, always…</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Fred</em>
</p><hr/><p>Romeo was floored. After all that fighting, Fred still… believed in him.</p><p>Fred still believed in him.</p><p>“He… he really believed that… didn’t he?” Romeo said quietly after a long pause. “He really believed that I could be saved, that we could be together again.”</p><p>Romeo closed the book. “It’s my fault. It’s all my fault...”</p><p>“What? Romeo, no! It was Xara who killed Fred, not you...”</p><p>“You haven’t heard my side of the story yet, Jesse,” interrupted Romeo. “It’s my fault, because I let things go too far.”</p><p>Romeo turned to Jesse and Soren.</p><p>“I… it was a very dark time for me,” he explained. “It’s just… we were so busy, and we just didn’t have any spare time to spend together as just us three. I… I didn’t adjust well to change back then, and when Fred and Xara suddenly became busy with the management of their settlements, it- it all became too much for me.</p><p>“Sometimes it’d be weeks before they could find a gap in their schedules for us to hang out, and… we used to hang out nearly every day. I didn’t understand… I felt like they didn’t care about me anymore.</p><p>“I let that feeling eat me up from the inside… and I began to unintentionally push them away. Which undoubtedly worried Fred… he was always like that. Stubborn as a mule he may be, but he did care about his friends. But despite that, even he started to get distant after a while...</p><p>“Eventually I got desperate, and I started making visits to Fred’s Keep, it started good, we got to talk a bit… but eventually that too went downhill. I still remember some of the screaming matches we had...”</p><hr/><p>
  <em>It had been months now since Fred and Romeo last spoke, and he was sure that something was going on between Fred and Xara. Why else would they be actively trying to give him the silent treatment?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Without even stopping to greet anybody, he quickly burst into Fred’s house.</em>
</p><p>“<em>Keep that trap of yours shut there, Freddy,” Romeo growled immediately. “I’m not interested in any small-talk.</em></p><p>“<em>Romeo, wh-”</em></p><p>
  <em>But Romeo wasn’t having it. “I SAID SHUT UP! I DON’T GIVE A FLYING FUCK IN WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY TO ME! WHY SHOULD I BE? YOU AND XARA DON’T CARE ABOUT ME AT ALL!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Fred was stunned into silence.</em>
</p><p>“<em>Yeah, I said it,” continued Romeo. “If you did care about me, you wouldn’t be trying to give me the silent treatment for months now, would you? BUT YOU ARE, AND THAT MEANS YOU DON’T!</em></p><p>“<em>Romeo, I-”</em></p><p>“<em>Let’s cut the bullcrap here, alright?” Romeo said in an icily cold voice. “Don’t think I haven’t been noticing you two huddled together like a bunch of gossips. I know you’re up to something, and quite frankly, I think it has something to do with me. Wouldn’t you agree?”</em></p><p>“<em>Romeo, listen to me-”</em></p><p>“<em>No, I’m done listening to your bullshit, Tatasciore!” snarled Romeo. “Until you and Stewart can get it through your thick heads that you don’t treat old friends like shit, we’re done!”</em></p><p>
  <em>Romeo stomped back to the door. “Have a nice life!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And stepping through it, Romeo slammed the door and teleported away.</em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <em>That had been the last time that Romeo had seen, spoke to or even heard of Fred and Xara for just over six months. In that time, he had withdrawn into himself completely, and had become angry and cold, even towards his own citizens of Romeoburg.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If Fred and Xara weren’t going to be his friends, that’s fine, he’ll just find his own friends. And that was what fuelled the whole ‘looking for a suitable’ champion thing that he had started not long after.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And right now, that wasn’t working out too well, but Romeo was still optimistic, he’s hoping that there is somebody out there who can be the perfect friend for him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It was after a particularly trying day, that Romeo received a letter from Fred for the first time in forever. Reading it, he felt a surge of anger swell up inside him. How dare he? How dare he suddenly send a letter like they were friends after giving him the silent treatment for all that time. ‘Two can play at that game’ he thought, as he used his powers to destroy the letter.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And that’s what found him being approached by Fred in that tower a week later. He had been sitting there, lost within his thoughts when Fred made an unexpected appearance.</em>
</p><p>“<em>What the hell do you want?” Romeo growled as Fred stepped inside.</em></p><p>“<em>Listen, Romeo,” Fred pleaded. “I’m begging you, whatever you're doing, it has to stop.”</em></p><p>“<em>Oh, does it now?” Romeo answered rudely. “I don’t remember asking you to look out for me.”</em></p><p>“<em>I haven’t missed what’s going on in Romeoburg, you know,” said Fred. “You’ve been working almost every single citizen in that town of yours non-stop for weeks. What are you doing? What is your problem?”</em></p><p>“<em>My problem? MY PROBLEM?” Romeo’s voice raised in volume as he finally turned around to look at Fred in the eye. “Oh, I’ll tell you what my problem is, tough guy! It’s you! You and Xara ABANDONED me! YOU ABANDONED ME YEARS AGO WHEN YOU DECIDED TO RUN OFF AND BUILD YOUR COMMUNITIES AND FORGET ALL ABOUT ME!”</em></p><p>“<em>Well. I’m sorry. I really am. But you should have said something sooner, we had no idea that you felt this way,” Fred reasoned. “But right now, you’re in the wrong here, Romeo Blanc. You’re the one who ended our friendship! Not me!”</em></p><p>“<em>Oh I think I’ve got it plenty right, Tatasciore!” spat Romeo. “I get what’s going on here. You two are in this together, aren’t you? I see your agenda. Find a guy to pretend to be friends with, invite him on some stupid adventure to get a debug stick, make him think that we are bonding!</em></p><p>“<em>AND THEN ONCE YOU GOT THOSE POWERS OF YOURS, YOU BOTH FUCK OFF AND DESERT ME!”</em></p><p>“<em>How can you say that?” Fred protested.</em></p><p>“<em>I’m going to give you one chance, to make it up to me,” said Romeo, his voice quiet. “You and Xara are Admins like me. You both have omnipotent powers, so join me and use them.”</em></p><p>“<em>What? No!” Fred exclaimed. “I’m not going to join some power-mad fool.”</em></p><p>“<em>And the truth comes spilling out. Is that really what you and Xara think of me, you, you… no! No! NO! You were planning on leaving me in the dirt, weren’t you? I bet you wouldn’t have blinked an eye if I died on that stupid quest after getting that stupid stick.”</em></p><p>
  <em>Romeo’s rage reached boiling point. And his powers surged up. His rage had caused him to lose control.</em>
</p><p>“<em>WELL FUCK YOU! FREDERICK TATASCIORE! FUCK YOU!”</em></p><p>
  <em>Romeo's rage was immediately smothered and he immediately snapped back to reality when he heard clapping coming from the doorway where Fred had entered beforehand.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>In the doorway, stood Xara. On her right hand was what appeared to be a glowing golden colored gauntlet. Romeo was about to tell her to fuck off, when the look on her face stopped him and made him feel wary. It was a face of sadistic pleasure. Wait, she was enjoying this?</em>
</p><p>“<em>Hello, boys,” she greeted, in a tone that sent a shiver down Romeo’s spine. He never heard her speak like that before.</em></p><p>“<em>Xara!” gasped Fred. “I’m afraid we have no choice.”</em></p><p>“<em>Choice of what?” snapped Romeo.</em></p><p>“<em>No choice? Oh, we always have a choice,” she said, her once low, flat voice being higher, more… strangely shrill, for her usual range. “Always…”</em></p><p>
  <em>Romeo looked into Fred’s eyes, and he could tell that Fred understood the situation no better than he did.</em>
</p><p>“<em>Xara, you’re scaring me!” Fred said. “What is your problem?”</em></p><p>
  <em>Xara slowly stepped towards Fred, who slowly took a step back.</em>
</p><p>“<em>Now it’s been fun! Really, it has,” Xara continued. “But this is the part where the adventure ends, for both of you!”</em></p><p>
  <em>Xara raised the gauntlet, and slowly approached Fred. Fred’s face showed a mixture of shock and anger.</em>
</p><p>“<em>Xara, don’t--!” Fred warned. “Why me…? What about all we discussed?”</em></p><p>
  <em>Xara responded with another round of her now-high-pitched laughter. “Fred, darling… that discussion was so full of your pussyfooting around the issue that I just decided… I’ll handle things myself!”</em>
</p><p>“<em>Can somebody tell me what’s going on?” Romeo asked.</em></p><p>
  <em>"What you have wanted to do for so long, Romeo. That is what's going on," She said, lips curling into a wide, terror-inducing grin as she grabbed Fred's shoulder, planting her palm right on the gem on his forehead.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>All too quickly, Fred screamed, clawing at his head as particles began to suck from his body into hers, his body growing colorless, before collapsing and poofing into inventory - Xara, of course, scooping it all up before shooting Romeo a coy smile.</em>
</p><p>“<em>Don’t mourn him, you’ll be joining him.”</em></p><p>
  <em>And all Romeo did was stand there, in shock. Slowly, he took a step back.</em>
</p><p>“<em>Fuck that!”</em></p><p>
  <em>And he vanished into purple particles.</em>
</p><hr/><p>As Romeo finished reliving those memories, his eyes immediately began to tear up. Fuck, he regretted saying all those things to Fred. And he knew full-well that nothing he said or did now would bring him back.</p><p>Romeo sniffled, and broke out into a sob.</p><p>“I-It’s my fault! I… I c-could’ve stopped him! It’s a-a-all my f-fucking f-fault!” he sobbed. “Our lives, g-gone! All because of me.”</p><p>Romeo grabbed Jesse in a hug, and sobbed into her shoulder. Jesse surprisingly hugged him back with one arm. After what seemed like forever, he pulled away, wiped his eyes, and stared directly at the book that he just read. A wave of hot rage surged through him as he picked it up and threw it against the cabin door with a huge cry. The book bounced off and fell open on the floor, Soren immediately grabbing it.</p><p>Looking into Jesse and Soren’s eyes, he expected looks of anger and betrayal, but instead, got a look of pity and determination. He knew immediately that they did not blame him. That they were genuinely there to help him.</p><p>“M-mark my words,” Romeo let out, his voice a mixture between sadness and anger. “When I find Xara, I’m going to reduce that bitch to absolute nothing. No, <em>less</em> than nothing. She deserves it, <em>worse</em>, for what she did to me and Fred. She ruined our lives.”</p><p>“Yeah, she’s a monster, through and through,” agreed Jesse.</p><p>“And Romeo, none of this is your fault,” assured Soren, confirming it. “This is <em>all</em> on Xara.”</p><p>“B-but how can it n-not be?” argued Romeo. “I-I was r-really close to doing something that I-I would’ve really regretted, what if I had ended up k-killing Fred myself in anger?”</p><p>“The main thing though is you didn’t,” said Jesse, tapping Romeo on the shoulder. “Xara hurt you, alot, and I promise you, I will be right by your side when we face her.”</p><p>Romeo gave another sniff and hugged Jesse again, muttering a thank you.</p><p>“Guys,” Soren called. “I think I may have found something.”</p><p>Romeo took the book from Soren and looked at the writing that was on the page where Soren had turned to.</p><p>If the worst happens, I’ve left the Debug Stick underneath the slab where you found this book. Do not touch it unless absolutely necessary. Good luck, Xara!</p><p>Romeo’s stomach did a flip as his heart began to pound. Was this true? Romeo didn’t dare to believe it. Had they really found the debug stick? He immediately turned his attention to the slab inside the hole where Jesse found the book. Using a spare diamond pickaxe he picked up while sorting through the stuff in his old house at Romeoburg, he mined up the slab, to be greeted by a sight that made his heart pound harder.</p><p>Inside the hole, lay the Debug Stick, it’s sheen illuminating his face slightly.</p><p>“I… I don’t fucking believe it!” he whispered. “WE FOUND IT! DO NOT TOUCH IT!”</p><p>Jesse slowly withdrew her hand from the hole.</p><p>“You are so damn lucky I was here, Jesse,” scolded Romeo. “If you had activated that thing’s power <em>now</em>, Xara would’ve been down here so fast, your head would spin.”</p><p>Romeo carefully picked it up, twirling it between his fingers as he pocketed it.</p><p>“So what do we do now?” asked Soren.</p><p>“We go--” He grinned, putting one hand on Jesse’s shoulder as his other hand’s index finger prodded Soren’s chest. “--and we tear her a new one.”</p><hr/><p>Author’s Notes: Wow. Wow, wow, wow. Romeo really has been through a lot, hasn’t he.</p><p>Oh, and I would like to once again credit my friend <em>attackatosh</em> for proof-reading and helping me slightly with Act IV and the upcoming Act V.</p><hr/><p>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</p><p>More to follow.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Act IV - Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Act IV – Chapter 21</p><hr/><p><a id="__DdeLink__1071_2173052458" name="__DdeLink__1071_2173052458"></a> Trigger Warning: This chapter contains swearing and graphic descriptions of sickness and injury. Reader discretion is advised.</p><hr/><p>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</p><hr/><p><a id="docs-internal-guid-641c699d-7fff-9813-ab2a-7e4c5df0cb8c" name="docs-internal-guid-641c699d-7fff-9813-ab2a-7e4c5df0cb8c"></a> The group was silent as they walked back up through the challenge room which still had fireworks going off and towards the surface of Romeoburg.</p><p>“You two,” called Romeo as he climbed the stairs towards the city’s parapets. “Did you see anyone?”</p><p>“Uh, no,” answered Soup. “Everything’s been <em>real</em> quiet.”</p><p>“Good,” said Romeo, before shifting his attention to the rest of the group. “Now, while you were in Fred’s Keep, I figured out a way to get us above the bedrock, and let me tell you, I feel very stupid for not thinking of it earlier.”</p><p>“What is it?” asked Jesse.</p><p>“Simple, A nether portal,” he said. “Assuming you’ve built nether portals up there before, we simply build one here, go into the Nether and find another portal, simple. Only problem is, we have no obsidian.”</p><p>“I got us covered there,” said Soren, pulling out a bucket full of water. He approached the lava pool separating the challenge room from the rest of the town and tipped it upside down, spilling the water. As the water met the still lake of lava, it began to sizzle, letting off a plume of steam before cooling down, leaving a large circular patch of fresh obsidian.</p><p>“Excellent, let me just-”</p><p>“HEY!” a distant voice screamed. Turning around, Romeo saw a figure maneuvering quickly along the suspended minecart track towards Romeoburg.</p><p>“Who are you?” demanded Romeo.</p><p>“That’s Ivor!” exclaimed Jesse, who had raced up to the parapets upon hearing him shout. “Let him in!”</p><p>“But he said-”</p><p>“JUST DO IT!”</p><p>Soup immediately opened the gate for this <em>Ivor</em> person, and immediately closed it after him.</p><p>“I-I couldn’t s-stop it,” Ivor panted, completely out of breath. “PAMA… angry… town… abducted!”</p><p>“WHAT?!” yelled multiple voices, including Romeo’s. <em>Was he saying that Fred’s Keep had been abducted already?</em></p><p>“They’re coming, we have to go! Now!”</p><p>Romeo did not have to be told twice, he quickly rushed and mined up as much obsidian as he could, which was only about 10 blocks, but he didn’t care. That was enough to create a portal. He raced back and arranged them into a 2x3 portal frame, with the corners missing. Pulling out the flint and steel, he lit it, just as his ears caught the familiar sounds of admin teleportation and an unfamiliar static sound.</p><p>“EVERYBODY, GET IN NOW!” he yelled. Most of the group rushed in without hesitation, the stragglers being brought to their knees by the increasing sound of the static.</p><p>Said stragglers - Jesse, Romeo, and Radar - all clung together, heads rattling from the noise as a teleportation sound was heard loudly… and nearby, revealing a very familiar purple figure… Xara.</p><p>“I have to say, Jesse. I’m impressed,” she began, smiling sickly at her. “Your <em>escape plan</em> actually worked out surprisingly well for you, hehehe. Understandable given the… <em>situation</em> up there, but I strongly urge you to give up now.”</p><p>She grinned as Romeo shot a death glare at her. “Hello Romeo! Hehehe, say... you look a little angry! Is something the matter? Gonna have a little temper tantwum?” She mocked in a mock-baby voice.</p><p>“That’s <em>ENOUGH!</em>” Radar suddenly shouted, jumping to his feet and giving Xara a hard kick - catching her off guard and knocking her off her feet. He quickly pushed Jesse and Romeo into the nether portal with his shield, and planted it firmly in front of him. “You aren’t getting to them that easy… X-Xara…”</p><p>Xara giggled, getting back up and shoving the shield aside, picking him up by the chin and floating off the ground with him.</p><p>“We’ll see, about <em>that,</em>” she said, with a giggle. Radar watching out of the corner of his eye as Soup and Val were captured behind her by a horde of chipped zombies.</p><p>Radar closed his eyes as he felt a tugging sensation all around him - she had teleported with him still in her grasp.</p><p>
  <em>Jesse… please get back to the surface quickly…</em>
</p><hr/><p>In the hazy, ashy depths of the Basalt Deltas, a newly formed nether portal began to swirl up within it’s frame, before ejecting two figures out of it, following the first four that had already come out of it moments ago. The two looked at each other, before slowly turning to look at the portal. Radar did not appear after them… which meant...</p><p>“I… He really…” Jesse mumbled, brushing her hair from her face. “No!”</p><p>“Don’t dwell on it too long…” Romeo looked away. “He bought us some time. Saved our lives.”</p><p>“But… Radar…”</p><p>“Jesse. Come on - we’re already far enough behind them; crying about him is only going to slow us down… I’ll let you cry on me when we get out of here.”</p><p>He helped Jesse to her feet, looking around the landscape. “Where are we anyway? I don’t remember this being a part of the Nether.”</p><p>“That’s because you haven’t explored deep enough,” The two heard a familiar voice, heads turning to find Soren there, the others not far behind him. “Despite what most people believe - Yes, the Nether is also split into separate biomes. It appears we are in the Basalt Deltas biome.”</p><p>“Then what’s the main part of the Nether called…?”</p><p>“Well, the Nether Wastes,” Soren chuckled. “We’re going to have to find our way through this part of the Nether, until we find our old rail system. From there… we have portals to most major areas on the surface. Luckily I explored this far out a few times, so I generally know how to get back.”</p><p>“Then let’s get going, now,” said Ivor. “Before <em>she</em> follows us.”</p><p>Romeo and Jesse shared a look, following closely behind Soren and the others. They both agreed to not bring up Radar being abducted by Xara until someone either asks first, or notices him missing. Romeo was constantly looking back to make sure they weren’t followed.</p><p>Soren led them deeper into the Basalt Deltas, dodging not only lava, but also the hostile mobs that plague the nether, namely magma cubes and ghasts. Inside the Basalt Deltas, Jesse also noticed a third mob that appeared to be passive. It consisted of a giant red colored head and legs with the bottom-half colored brown, and it was <em>walking</em> on lava? <em>How is that possible?</em></p><p>“Striders,” explained Soren. “They are actually quite friendly. You can use them to walk across big bodies of lava.”</p><p>“Interesting,” said Romeo flatly. “Can we move on, like today please?”</p><p>“Romeo!” Jesse yelled, flabbergasted.</p><p>“Sorry,” sighed Romeo. “But I’m a little stressed out right now, having to constantly look over my shoulder, making sure <em>she</em> isn’t following us.”</p><p>The group continued on through the rest of the Basalt Deltas biome, even using the striders to cross a large body of lava, and then quite suddenly, they found themselves in a clearing, with blue fog, lots of soul sand and… blue fire?</p><p>“Welcome to Soul Sand Valley,” welcomed Soren.</p><p>“Soul Sand?” repeated Romeo, outraged. “How in the fuck do you expect us to be able to outrun anything here?”</p><p>“If you like, you can turn back and wait for PAMA to find you then,” Ivor snapped. Romeo gave him a glare in response.</p><p>“Let’s not argue, please,” pleaded Jesse, having to play the peacemaker.</p><p>Reluctantly, they slowly maneuvered their way through Soul Sand Valley, which was no easy feat, considering there were mobs everywhere in the nether that wanted to kill them.</p><p>After what seemed like forever, the environment started to change again, signifying the end of the Soul Sand Valley biome.</p><p>“Thank fuck for that,” Romeo said, angrily. “Where are we now?”</p><p>The new biome that they had now reached consisted of significantly darkened fog and... blue-colored <em>trees</em>?</p><p>“Warped Forest,” said Soren. “It’s the most peaceful biome in the Nether, with only Striders and Endermen to worry about.”</p><p>“Good,” responded Romeo, relieved.</p><p>The trip through the Warped Forest went off without a hitch, considering they didn’t need to worry about ghasts spawning here, although it did take longer than expected, having to cover their eyes as they trekked through a haunting of endermen.</p><p>“Where’s the kid?” asked Magnus, looking behind him for once and noticing that they were missing someone.</p><p>Jesse froze… the dangers of the nether had put Radar right out of her mind. “He… h-he...”</p><p>“Magnus!” chastised Gabriel. "If he's not here, then…?"</p><p>Romeo gave Jesse a pitying look, taking a step forward and explaining what happened himself.</p><p>“We got ambushed by Xara herself just as you four went through the portal. Radar… sacrificed himself to buy us time to escape,” he explained. “That’s why I’m constantly looking over my shoulder… to make sure she isn’t following us.”</p><p>“I’m... sorry…” Gabriel lowered his head as the others looked mournful. "We should hurry."</p><p>Eventually they reached the edge of the Warped Forest, to find themselves in another forest-like biome. This biome had a forest just like the Warped Forest biome did, except this time, it was red, along with the fog which was now red. Good, this must mean they’re getting close.</p><p>“How much further?” asked Jesse.</p><p>“Not too far now, this is the last biome we have to cross before reaching the Nether wastes,” Soren said. “But this biome is known for Piglins, dangerous if you're not wearing gold armor."</p><p>Without much trouble, they crossed through the Crimson Forest, only encountering a few sets of Piglins and Hoglins, and at last, they were finally at the Nether Wastes. As they continued to pass through, Jesse’s eyes widened at the sight of an old, still-smoldering portal frame, torn in half with obsidian scattered around it. She was surprised that it hadn’t been fixed yet after all these years.</p><p>Then again, she reasoned, no-one really goes exploring in the Nether that much anymore.</p><p>“It’s good to be back in familiar territory...” Jesse said, shrugging. “This was the portal that the Wither-Storm broke when we ducked into the Nether.”</p><p>“Wither-Storm?” questioned Romeo.</p><p>“Long story,” Jesse continued, looking over at Ivor. “Still feel guilty about punching you here, Ivor,”</p><p>“Yes, well… like I said, you weren’t the first…” Ivor mumbled, voice trailing off as he rolled his eyes.</p><p>Soren cleared his throat. “Just ahead is our old railway system that we’ve been looking for. Once we’re there, we can ride towards the portal leading to our old temple.</p><p>“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”</p><p>Racing towards the carts, they each managed to get a cart to themselves and they were off.</p><p>“Yep, that should get us some distance between any pursuers…” said Romeo as they went over a giant lake of lava. “Um… guys?”</p><p>They were approaching a drop. Jesse, feeling adventurous, waved her arms up like she did the last time they were down here. Romeo and Magnus did the same, while Soren covered his eyes and Gabriel and Ivor both held onto their carts tightly.</p><p>After what seemed like forever, but was only a few seconds, the carts hit the bottom of the massive drop and the path rapidly evened out, but they weren’t out of the woods yet. They still needed to duck down through two low walls, which extended down to just a few inches above their carts.</p><p>“Why would you put those there?” growled Romeo as his head just narrowly missed the second overhang. Seeing the lever ahead, Jesse moved to grab it… only to remember that her right hand was missing. Jesse let out a quiet, half-nervous laugh. How could she have forgotten, what with the… pain, and everything else. She couldn’t really think clearly.</p><p>“Don’t worry, I got it!” Soren said, snapping Jesse back to reality as he reached his hand out and flipped the lever, stopping the minecarts from rolling directly into a curtain of lava. The tracks underneath them began to descend, piston by piston.</p><p>“T-thanks,” stammered Jesse, putting her remaining hand up to her temple with a sigh. “You’d think… you’d think I’d realise a little sooner, you know?”</p><p>“Well, not really.” Soren shrugged. “You lost an entire hand; I doubt anyone would immediately assume you’re <em>instantly</em> used to not having it anymore.”</p><p>Jesse was caught by surprise when the tracks began to separate the carts. <em>Right</em>, she’d forgotten about this. She immediately got her guard up for any passing ghasts, clutching her sword in her left hand. It felt clunky, but she made it work - she didn’t practice sword swinging with her left hand for nothing. She caught a glance of Romeo filling a ghast full of poison arrows with precision, grinning wildly as the ghast fell in the distance. She couldn’t help but find herself grinning right alongside him; finding herself glad that no more ghasts were nearby as she sheathed her sword...</p><p>The two tracks eventually ended up right next to each other.</p><p>“Romeo, that was <em>amazing!</em>” she said, only allowing the tiniest squeak to leave her as she bounced on her heels. For a moment, Jesse could’ve sworn that she saw the tiniest hint of color appear on his face as she said that.</p><p>“Practice makes perfect!” he responded, returning a wink upon seeing her wide grin. The two tracks merged, with Romeo’s cart right behind Jesse’s. “Though… I don’t know what you see in <em>me,</em> considering <em>you</em> defeated a giant three-headed ghast…”</p><p>“That was <em>before</em> I lost my hand though…” Jesse said, shrugging as the tracks turned and eventually started going up. “Here comes…”</p><p>The carts flew off the edge of the ascending tracks and straight into the air, Romeo throwing his arms into the air and squealing in delight as the carts flew through the hot, humid air of the nether before dropping directly onto the top of another track below them, speeding up and bumping into the others.</p><p>“You guys okay?” asked Jesse.</p><p>“Yeah,” answered Magnus. “I forgot how much of a rush this minecart ride used to give me…”</p><p>“Indeed…” agreed Gabriel.</p><p>Soren nodded, face a faint tinge of green as he gave a shaky thumbs-up. </p><p>“Ouch, n-now that really k-kills the throat,” coughed Romeo as the track led them across another wide gap, before entering another tunnel and stopping.</p><p>“I… I’m gonna…” Soren mumbled woozily, ducking his head into the minecart as his body lurched forward. Jesse heard him make several gross sounds. “T-there… S’s’good,” He shook his head slowly, wiping his mouth with his sleeve as he stumbled ahead.</p><p>“Forgot you couldn’t handle rollercoasters and fast rides very well,” chuckled Magnus. “It’s a wonder all that teleporting around didn’t mess you up more.”</p><p>“Th-<em>that,</em> never quite… f-felt so… t-tumble-y,” Soren said, still somewhat wobbly. “More… like it tugs on you. Not like you’re being shaken around.”</p><p>“It would <em>probably </em>be best if Soren didn’t have to talk so much, Magnus,” Gabriel cautioned, “He can barely keep his lunch as it is, you really don’t want it on your shoes.”</p><p>“Been there, done that,” Magnus rolled his eyes, waving a hand dismissively. “Long as he stays quiet, he’ll live.”</p><p>Soren grumbled, shrugging as they continued moving forward. Romeo and Jesse, like before, trailed a bit farther behind them - still following, but not closely to hear (or smell) the other four. Reaching the top of the stairs, they found themselves staring at a lit nether portal. Everyone gave each other relieved looks, knowing where the portal led - barring Romeo, who looked at Jesse with confusion.</p><p>“Home,” she mouthed. Romeo nodded understandingly. “I’m gonna go first, make sure that it’s safe…”</p><p>The others nodded, stepping aside to allow her to pass through.</p><p>“Be careful,” warned Ivor. “PAMA is still out there, and he could have mobs guarding the exit portal.”</p><p>Jesse nodded. “I’ll be careful - do any of you want to come with me? I might need backup up there.”</p><p>Romeo stepped up, “I’ll come with you.”</p><p>“Yeah… thanks, Rome,” Jesse nodded, the two stepping through the portal. The others all shared a look, Ivor sharing a fatherly smile.</p><p>Jesse and Romeo appeared on the other side of the portal just as quickly as they’d entered the nether side of it, Romeo froze upon realizing what she called him, standing behind Jesse as she looked around, eyes narrowing as she tried to focus.</p><p>“H-Hey, wait, you--” Romeo stammered, face flushing as Jesse put her arm out in front of him, sword already in her hand.</p><p>“<em>Ssh,</em>” She hissed quietly. “I heard something.”</p><p>She slowly took a step forward, Romeo following close behind - bow already in his hands. They looked around, the night around them suddenly falling… disturbingly quiet, as the two of them made it up the hill overlooking Beacontown. Jesse couldn’t help but a horrible bad feeling by how quiet everything is. It was too quiet.</p><p>“That’s Beacontown… my home. My city,” Jesse said, sitting down at the edge and quietly patting the spot next to her. “...Let’s just sit here for a bit; get some fresh air before we go back for the others.”</p><p>“Might as well...” Romeo mumbled, kneeling down next to Jesse but not actually taking a seat. “Might as well as catch my breath, but let’s not slow down too long. Once Xara knows we’re on the surface, she’ll be onto us like an angered enderman.”</p><p>“Funny you should compare her to them, considering how she <em>teleports</em> like one,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows as Romeo finally sat, and they both shared a chuckle. She leaned against him, their heads touching without even really thinking about it.</p><p>“...Funny, how we’ve only been free about an afternoon, and it still feels like days have passed,” Romeo lamented. “Nice to finally have a chance to catch our breath.”</p><p>“Yeah… Rome,” Jesse replied, giggling. He blushed again, covering his face with his hands as he groaned.</p><p>“Is <em>that</em> what you called me?!”</p><p>“Um, <em>obviously,</em> what else was I gonna call you--”</p><p><em><b>Boom.</b></em> The two were immediately blown back by a powerful, sudden shockwave. Their attention immediately snapped over to the source of the shockwave - a bright, blinding flash before them. It was coming from Beacontown. Romeo sat up first, having landed on Jesse’s chest when they had gotten blown back.</p><p>“Oh… <em>fuck,</em>” was all he managed to say as he stared at it, eyes widened in horror.</p><hr/><p>End of Act IV.</p><hr/><p>Author’s Notes: Well... just what has she done now?</p><p>Again, I would like to credit my friend <em>attackatosh</em> for proof-reading and helping me considerably with this chapter and for Act V coming up.</p><hr/><p>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</p><p>More to follow.</p>
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<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Act V - Chapter 22</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Act V – Chapter 22</p><hr/><p>
  <em>Trigger Warning: This chapter contains swearing and major character death. Reader discretion is advised.</em>
</p><hr/><p>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</p><hr/><p>
  <em>There is a key difference between a good friend and a bad one.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Good friends do what you ask, they appreciate what you do for them. They never betray you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jesse is a perfect example of what we call a good friend. Other good friends include, in no particular order… Fred and Soren. Basically, all decent people who refuse to let prejudice control them and force them to abandon someone in their darkest hour.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Now Xara on the other hand, she is the perfect example of someone who I don’t stand for. Evil, cunning and a sadistic bitch to boot.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Oh, but then, THEN… as if what she done to me and Sourcemist wasn’t enough, I find out she had been orchestrating the rift between me and Fred from the start?! ARGH!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But that was also when luck finally came my way. We found the one thing that can potentially turn the tides, and see Xara defeated once and for all…</em>
</p><p>…<em>The Debug Stick.</em></p><p>
  <em>This is it, I cannot believe this is it! After all those years of suffering inside the Ironguard Detention Facility, after all those dreams of getting revenge on that sadistic bitch. I cannot believe this is finally happening.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And now poor Xara is doomed, and is about to learn a valuable lesson in why she shouldn’t have screwed with me.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The saddest part of all, though, is that Fred… poor Fred never found out about Xara’s true colors until it was too late. Neither of us did. And now he will never get to see me take down Xara for good.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But, at least </em>
  <em>
    <b>he,</b>
  </em>
  <em> the other one, had the courage to cut all his ties and leave us… before he got roped into this mess. Fuck, I still miss him though.</em>
</p><hr/><p><a id="docs-internal-guid-b6056c97-7fff-60f6-88" name="docs-internal-guid-b6056c97-7fff-60f6-88"></a> Jesse sat up, and saw the bright flash fade, leaving behind nothing but a huge smouldering wreck…</p><p>She opened her mouth, trying to scream even though no sound left her. Romeo motioned for her to stay there, standing up to get a better look.</p><p>Sure enough, Xara was there, floating above the now-destroyed walls… and holding someone up next to her, before dropping them into a horde of chipped zombies.</p><p>“S-she<em>.. sh-she..</em>” Romeo stammered, unable to form words as his hands balled into fists. He turned around, and seeing a hologram of Xara appear right between him and Jesse, he saw red.</p><p>“You… fucking… BITCH!” he roared.</p><p>“Now, now, is that any way to speak to an old friend, Romey?” Xara taunted.</p><p>“Y-you!” With a scream, Romeo launched forward and attempted to charge tackle Xara, forgetting in his blind rage that she was a hologram, and phased right through her, landing on Jesse.</p><p>“You can’t hit <em>light,</em> dummy!” taunted Xara, bursting into her shrill laughter. Jesse grabbed Romeo’s shoulder with her remaining hand and pushed him off of her.</p><p>“Get… off… me!” Jesse groaned, getting up and drawing her sword again. “Where the fuck is the <em>real</em> you? Where are you hiding?!” She growled, prompting Romeo to raise an eyebrow towards her. When’d she start picking up on his… vocabulary?</p><p>“I warned you, Jesse!” she said in a sing-song voice. “I warned you that if you tried to escape again, it would result in unpleasantness!”</p><p>“I…” She glared at the hologram, and froze as she stared through it out towards the ruins of her city. <em>Her</em> Beacontown, once thriving and wonderful, gone. Reduced to atoms. Xara’s previous warning rang out through her mind, and fear began to race through her body.</p><p>What had she done?</p><p>“See what happens when you don’t <em>listen</em>, Jesse?” Xara giggled, placing a holographic hand on Jesse’s right shoulder. “You lose your hand, you get lost in the Nether… and you lose the city you held so <em>very</em> close to your <em>heart</em>.”</p><p>Jesse’s eyes began to tear up… “N-no…”</p><p>“And the best part? You lose your friends too. Axel, Olivia, Lukas, <em>Petra… </em>all dead, because of <em>you</em>,” she said in a sickly sweet voice. “Isn’t that funny? Isn’t that… just so like your pitiful life? You go on and on about protecting your friends, and yet you just let them die for you. Not to mention all of your townspeople too. Want me to go over the list of names?”</p><p>“...No,” Jesse shook her head. “No, fuck that. Fuck <em>you!</em> I know my friends better than <em>anyone</em> else. You might’ve blown up my town, but my <em>friends?</em> There’s no way you actually managed to kill them.”</p><p>She couldn’t have...</p><p>Xara took a step back, curiosity cracking through her sweet and smiley exterior. “Oooh, such language...” she giggled. “I must admit, to be so openly in denial about the truth before you… it is a <em>fascinating</em> look at you. Not the surface-level, cheery-but-nervous Jesse… but the true, <em>terrified,</em> always-afraid-of-being-inferior Jesse. </p><p>“Shouldn’t you be glad they’re gone? Now that you’re finally the best, by <em>default?</em> You could never handle redstone with Olivia’s finesse, or cause quite as much griefer havoc as Axel. And Lukas, your <em>precious, charming, perfect </em>Lukas? He never held you in the same regard as you held him… not even close. And let’s be honest, if you and Petra ended up in a sword fight? She’d have run you through at <em>least</em> ten times over.”</p><p>Tears were streaming down Jesse’s face. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t… <em>think.</em> It was like the weight of the world was on her shoulders, dragging her through the dirt and into the void, even below Ironguard and the Underneath…</p><p>“And on top of that, just remember that <em>you</em> could have easily prevented their deaths by listening to me,” Xara said, with a giggle. “But no, you had to keep pushing, and pushing, and pushing. And thus, you have nobody but yourself to blame, Jesse Taber.”</p><p>“You. Leave. Her. <em>Alone!</em>” Romeo growled, stepping forward and cracking his fists. “Oh I’m going to enjoy shutting you up, <em>Xara Stewart!</em>”</p><p>“Go ahead, Romey. Try and tackle the hologram again - see where it gets you,” She grinned, doing a backflip off of the cliff and vanishing. For a moment, Romeo genuinely considered leaping off after her… before turning around again, seeing Jesse on the ground. Helpless, terrified… <em>alone.</em></p><p>Her eyes were shut tight, tears wetting the dirt around her face as Romeo knelt next to her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her up into a hug as the others emerged from the portal finally.</p><p>“Ha-<em>haaaa,</em> Ivor, you owe me a diamond!” said Magnus, nudging Ivor playfully as Soren and Gabriel scoffed. “You two are no fun.”</p><p>“<em>Look at them.</em>” Soren said, pointing at Romeo and Jesse. “I don’t quite think <em>your</em> betting pool is entirely reasonable at the moment, Magnus - and Ivor, don’t encourage him!”</p><p>“I wasn’t!” Ivor protested, groaning. “Gabriel, Soren, could you two at least <em>try</em> to help me keep Magnus in line?”</p><p>“All of you, <em>shut the fuck up!</em>” Romeo hissed, giving the four of them an intense death-glare. “Look at her. Look out fucking <em>there!</em>” he growled, pointing at the cliffside. “So how about you shut up with your petty squabbles, and look at what <em>she</em> has fucking done!”</p><p>Soren saw what Romeo was pointing at, and gasped in horror upon seeing the mess that Xara had created. Gabriel and Magnus had similar reactions, the three of them falling silent.</p><p>Ivor was somehow even quieter than the rest, hands shaking at his sides. “She did this? That… Xara person-- the Admin?”</p><p>Romeo nodded. “I saw her. She dropped someone to a horde of zombies underneath her.”</p><p>“The kid?” Magnus asked, not really thinking about it. “He was the only one of us who didn’t make it back through the portal, so maybe it’s him?”</p><p>“...I couldn’t see them very clearly, but I’m assuming it was him…”</p><p>“We… <em>I</em> need to check on something. Some<em>one,</em>” Ivor said, his barely-audible whisper being hard to hear over the deafening silence.</p><p>All too quickly, before any of them had processed what he’d said, he had jumped off the cliff, already vanishing into the night.</p><p>“Ivor!” Gabriel called out, looking over the ruins and the area below. “Confound it…”</p><p>“...Let… let him do his thing. We need… I need to f-find Radar,” Jesse mumbled, shakily standing up. It didn’t last, though, and she quickly fell back into Romeo’s arms.</p><p>“It’s okay, s’okay,” Romeo said in a calm and quiet voice, as he helped Jesse back to her feet, Jesse holding an arm around him for support. “Just lean into me… that’s it.”</p><p>“S-she… she can’t have…”</p><p>“Either way, we’ve got company,” Soren said, pointing towards chipped mobs that were slowly coming out of the forest lands from around the temple. “We can’t stay here, the temple’s far too exposed, we need to get out of the open… now.”</p><p>Running blindly, they managed to get off the cliff that they were on and into the woods below, running towards the billowing smoke coming out of the giant crater that used to be Beacontown.</p><p>Dodging chipped mobs, they did not stop until they reached a clearing, having long shook off PAMA’s trail, where they saw a cabin on the top of a small hill next to more woods. Jesse immediately recognized it as Lukas’ old cabin… Shoving emotional thoughts down, Jesse immediately moved towards the direction that led to Beacontown.</p><p>However, somebody had found them first.</p><p>“HEY!” screamed a voice from behind them. Turning around, they saw a figure familiar to Jesse appear out of the woods behind them. It was Harper. “Jesse? Oh thank heavens it’s you! Follow me, it’s not safe out in the open!”</p><p>Without question, the group followed Harper as she led them up towards and inside Lukas’ cabin. Inside, Jesse froze as she saw the last person she expected to see Harper hiding with...</p><p>It was Stella, and next to her was Lluna.</p><p>“Harper, what are you… OH!” Stella exclaimed, seeing the group. “H-hi!”</p><p>Wow, this was awkward.</p><p>“Stella…” Jesse slowly greeted, rubbing her head.</p><p>“Jesse.”</p><p>Wanting to get away from this awkward confrontation, Jesse spun around.</p><p>“What are we doing here? We need to go and save my friends,” said Jesse, racing for the door.</p><p>But as Jesse put a hand on the handle of the cabin door, Romeo pulled her hand away, and placed his right arm on the door, holding it shut.</p><p>“I’m sorry, Jesse…”</p><p>“GET OUT OF MY WAY!” screamed Jesse.</p><p>“No! It’s too late!” Romeo said.</p><p>Jesse tried desperately to pull the door open, but the former Admin was much stronger than she had anticipated, and would not budge.</p><p>“Jesse!” yelled Romeo. “There’s nothing you can do! They’re… th- they’re dead!”</p><p>“NO, THEY’RE NOT!” Jesse screamed back. “IT’S JUST ANOTHER ONE OF THE ADMIN’S TRICKS! LET ME GO!”</p><p>She did not believe it, she would not believe it. She continued to fight Romeo with every ounce of strength that she still had.</p><p>“Beacontown is g-gone, Jesse!” said Romeo, his voice breaking under the pressure of trying to hold the door shut. “There’s no way they could’ve surv-”</p><p>“Get out of the way, Romeo!” screamed Jesse. “I have to save them! Move!</p><p>“Guys… Soren, help me talk some sense into her!” pleaded Romeo as Jesse continued to try desperately to escape the cabin. Eventually, Jesse’s strength slipped and he managed to get her away from the door. Jesse felt anger flare up inside her towards Romeo, how dare he try and insinuate that her friends were dead… when she clearly knew they weren’t.</p><p>But some part deep-down inside of her knew that Beacontown had been consumed in a massive fireball. If her friends had been inside that… they would have been incinerated immediately… that would only mean one thing… that her friends really were…</p><p>No, Jesse refused to think that. They had been through so much, the Wither-Storm, the Old Builders… how can they just be gone like that? The last of Jesse’s strength failed her as she crumbled to the ground... eyes wet with tears. <em>No…</em></p><p>“I’m... sorry… Jess,” whispered Romeo, his eyes looking at her in pity. Harper was lost for words while Stella simply stood there with a solemn expression on her face. Rivalry or not, nobody deserved this. Soren, Magnus and Gabriel looked on too in pity.</p><p>“W-what happened to Jesse’s hand?” Harper questioned, finally regaining her voice and breaking the long silence, voice going higher as she eyed it with a look of shock and horror.</p><p>“Scavengers!” growled Soren. “Shook us down, sliced her hand clean off and sent us off a cliff!”</p><p>Stella gave a gasp of horror, while the noise that came out of Harper’s mouth was something akin to screaming. Lluna made a surprised llama noise.</p><p>“Jesse?”</p><p>Soren had stepped forward, crouching down towards Jesse on the floor.</p><p>“I… I’m so sorry, Jesse,” he said. “Your friends… I can see how much they meant to you.”</p><p>Jesse sniffled, shivering slightly. Seeing this, Romeo got an idea and raced off. Coming back, he handed Jesse a leather jacket, which Jesse immediately recognized, with widened eyes.</p><p>It… it was Lukas’ old Ocelot’s jacket… that he wore back when they fought the Wither-Storm.</p><p>“I’m sure whoever owned this won’t mind,” he said.</p><p>“I… I can’t…” she whispered. “That… that’s Lukas’ jacket. I can’t do it. I can’t take that from his memory. I can’t! I CAN’T!”</p><p>“Okay then, okay…” said Romeo, before digging into his inventory and taking out a red and black striped hoodie. “But Jess, you’re freezing… take one of mine instead then.”</p><p>Jesse, seeing Romeo offer her one of his own jackets like that… hesitantly took it and slid it on. It fit her perfectly, and immediately, she wasn’t quite so cold from the fresh surface air anymore.</p><p>Meanwhile, Romeo had slipped on Lukas’ jacket, along with a pair of fingerless gloves that he had grabbed from Romeoburg along with the jacket he gave to Jesse. Jesse tried to protest, but Romeo raised a gloved hand, shutting her down.</p><p>“Look, I’m sure your friend would understand, and I’m sure he would have wanted his memory to be preserved.”</p><p>Jesse did not respond, instead getting a distant look.</p><p>“She… she killed them,” she said, after a while... in a quiet but icy cold voice. “She killed them! SHE FUCKING KILLED THEM! I…” she took a breath, staring directly into Romeo’s empathetic amber eyes. “She’s a fucking monster… I don’t know how, I don’t know when… but I swear, we will find her, and I will enjoy every look on that stupid face of hers as she gets her just deserts! We… not you, <em>we</em> are going to be the ones to reduce that bitch to absolute nothing.”</p><p>Romeo took a step back, eyebrow raising as Jesse coldly quoted what he had said back in the cabin. Stella, Magnus and Gabriel looked weary of her while Soren looked as though seeing someone like Jesse fall so low pained him deeply. Harper slowly shook her head.</p><p>“Jesse… Je-“ she began, only to be interrupted by Jesse holding her left hand up.</p><p>“Don’t,” she snapped. “I don’t need your pity!”</p><p>“Well, what do we do now?” asked Stella, speaking for the first time since seeing the group.</p><p>“We… we need some place to hide…” said Jesse. “What about in the portal network?”</p><p>Multiple choruses of ‘<em>No!’</em> rang out from everybody except Romeo and Stella.</p><p>“Jesse, no!” Soren said. “Don’t you remember what Ivor said? He said that PAMA’s already begun to take over other worlds, and with Xara on his side, he can teleport mobs everywhere… nowhere is safe!”</p><p>“Maybe, but there’s a catch though,” said Romeo, piping up. “Sure, Xara can teleport mobs everywhere for PAMA, but I remember back in my Admin days, I could not teleport between the Overworld and the Nether. I could still manipulate things from both sides, and even teleport around while <em>in</em> the Nether, but just not teleport between the Nether and the Overworld.</p><p>“I’m thinking that this <em>Portal Network</em>, that you’re speaking of may also run on this same principle, meaning that…”</p><p>“Yes! If we blow up both sides of the exit portal, PAMA can’t send any more forces through!” finished Harper, catching onto what Romeo was saying.</p><p>As Jesse stood up to add her input, that’s when they were interrupted by sounds of teleporting and static.</p><p>“<em><b>Overworld biological scan completed! Threat identified! Hello, Jesse! Hello, Romeo! Long time… no see!</b></em>” a distant, but loud robotic voice said that Jesse recognized instantly as PAMA.</p><p>“Shit! They found us!” exclaimed Romeo.</p><p>“We need to go, now!” yelled Harper. “Follow me!”</p><p>They exited the house and ran into the woods behind it just as mobs began to swarm it.</p><p>“Okay… the exit portal isn’t far!” gasped Harper. “This way!”</p><p>On the way to the portal, they bumped into Ivor again, who was overjoyed upon seeing that Harper was okay.</p><p>“Come on!” yelled Romeo.</p><p>Not too much running later, and they found the point where they had built this world’s exit portal. Luckily for them, it was already lit, as Jesse did not have the enchanted flint &amp; steel on her.</p><p>“Okay! Everybody in!” ordered Romeo, as Soren, Lluna, Stella, Jesse, Gabriel, Ivor and Harper raced in. Giving Magnus a nod, he followed them in, while Magnus slammed a block of TNT down, lighting it before diving in behind them just as it exploded, destroying the portal.</p><hr/><p>Author’s Note: How did I manage to let myself get so dark with this one? I told you this story was going to get dark.</p><p>Again, credit to my friend <em>attackatosh</em> for not only proof-reading, but actually helping out with writing this chapter.</p><hr/><p>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</p><p><a id="__DdeLink__879_3321096064" name="__DdeLink__879_3321096064"></a> More to follow.</p>
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<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Act V - Chapter 23</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Act V – Chapter 23</p><hr/><p>Trigger Warning: This chapter contains swearing and graphic descriptions of character death. Reader discretion is advised.</p><hr/><p>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</p><hr/><p><a id="docs-internal-guid-c891fd3f-7fff-f80d-716b-5c34b2b964cb" name="docs-internal-guid-c891fd3f-7fff-f80d-716b-5c34b2b964cb"></a> Without hesitation, Magnus slammed another block of TNT down upon exiting the other side of the portal.</p><p>“GET DOWN!” he yelled, as he and the others dived, the shockwave of the explosion causing them to slide along the floor. After the smoke cleared, nothing was left except for a large smouldering crater in the wall, a hole revealing the pitch-black void outside of the hallway.</p><p>“...So that’s what’s out there?” Jesse mumbled. Harper chuckled, getting to her feet slowly.</p><p>“Never said the hallway was exactly in a <em>populated</em> world, you know,” She said, walking over and helping Jesse to her feet.</p><p>“Still, not a bad ‘fuck you’ to Xara,” said Romeo, looking at the damage and nodding with approval, stroking his beard.</p><p>“Well, from what I can remember, PAMA hasn’t gotten to <em>every</em> world yet, only a few,” said Ivor. “He’s taking them over one at a time. Fortunately, I’m pretty sure the Old Builder’s world isn’t very high on that priority list, so perhaps we can hide there for the time being?”</p><p>“Also helps that we’ve blocked off his forces,” said Romeo. “It won’t last forever, <em>that</em>, I’m sure of... but at least we’ve got some time to slow down and <em>think</em>.”</p><p>Jesse made a face. “I know we’ve been living in a post-Hadrian world for years now… but are you <em>really</em> suggesting we go <em>back</em> to the Old Builders’ world…?” She asked, glaring at Ivor.</p><p>“No need to worry, Jesse,” said Harper, patting Jesse on the back. “During our vacation, we were here… and Otto’s doing a great job at managing those Games.”</p><p>“I…” She put her hand on her face, sighing. “Fair enough. You guys would know more than I would about that place these days. What’s our plan <em>now</em> though? Just high-tailing it over that way? We didn’t exactly get to take the Atlas with us…”</p><p>“Oh no,” whispered Ivor. “I forgot, PAMA took the Atlas from me and was using it along with my memories to find the worlds that can be easily taken over first.”</p><p>Magnus snorted. “Not like that ‘PAMA’ thing has hands, though - how’s he gonna use a book if he can’t--”</p><p><em>Thonk. </em>Ivor smacked the back of Magnus’ head, making him yelp in surprise. “You idiot! Even if he doesn’t have hands of his <em>own,</em> he can send someone <em><b>with</b></em> hands to navigate FOR him!”</p><p>“Okay! Okay! No need to <em>yell</em> at me!”</p><p>“Actually, no he cannot… right now,” said Soren. “Remember, we blew up the portal.”</p><p>“Let’s get moving,” said Romeo, cracking his knuckles. “I want a <em>word</em> with this ‘Otto’ person myself about how they got that Redstone Heart!”</p><p>Harper led the way, leading them towards the open staircase which led to the portal to the Old Builder’s world, as Jesse clearly remembered.</p><p>“Oh, <em>fuck off</em>!” cursed Romeo. “You expect <em>me</em> to climb <em>that</em> many stairs!?”</p><p>“I could carry you,” Jesse said, holding her arms out half-jokingly. She did not expect Romeo to actually fall down into them. He was… lighter than she expected. The two of them started up the stairs, avoiding the odd looks from the others behind them.</p><p>“Hey! Lovebirds... wait for us!” exclaimed Magnus. Romeo shuffled in Jesse’s arms, popping up over her shoulder and flipping double-birds at Magnus, who burst out laughing as he slunk back down. Ivor gave him another glare.</p><p>“Ti...tired…” Romeo mumbled, letting out a yawn.</p><p>By the time they reached the top of the stairs, Jesse looked down at Romeo… and saw that he had fallen asleep in her arms, face oddly serene as he slept. She cooed softly, smiling as she adjusted her arms to make him more comfortable - a benefit of him being that much shorter than her. She also noticed the pointed ears that he had. How did she not notice that before?</p><p>Jesse felt a hand close around her shoulder. Looking up, she saw that it was Ivor’s. He was giving her a smile, his eyes dancing with fatherly affection.</p><p>Looking forward, they saw the double dark oak door that guarded the hidden portal that led to the Old Builder’s world. Jesse stopped and stared at it in thought… <em>Was she really doing this? Was she really going back to the place that used to give her nightmares about Hadrian and his games?</em></p><p>She immediately shook that thought out of her mind… this was the best place to hide from PAMA and Xara for the time being, of course she was doing this. Her attention was brought back to reality by Soren.</p><p>“Jesse?” asked Soren. “You okay?”</p><p>“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Let’s go.”</p><p>Harper reached out and opened it, going first… followed by Ivor, Stella, Lluna, Soren, Gabriel, Magnus… leaving just Jesse and an asleep Romeo behind. Jesse took a deep breath.</p><p>“...here we go.”</p><p>And she followed them inside.</p><hr/><p>Half-expecting them to be thrown into the middle of another spleef match, Jesse was quite surprised when they emerged onto solid ground a short distance away from a village that she recognized as the competitor village for the games. Her surprise did not go unnoticed by Harper.</p><p>“What, you thought I’d just dump you directly into a match again?” she said in a teasing tone, smirking. “No, we changed where that portal spat people out after your… heroics against Hadrian and Mevia.”</p><p>Jesse let out a chuckle. “Yeah, thanks.”</p><p>The group continued on to the competitor village, where they were greeted by on-lookers as they walked through the courtyard. Lluna made a few vocalizations.</p><p>“So this is the village for all the people competing in the games?” asked Stella. “Quite a few more people than I expected.”</p><p>“Okay, you guys get settled here, I’m going to go find-”</p><p>“Harper? You’re back already?” asked an astounded voice. Turns out she didn’t need to find Otto, for he was already there.</p><p>“Otto!” she greeted.</p><p>“What a pleasant surprise,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting to see you and Ivor quite so soon. And… Soren?”</p><p>“Hello, Otto…” greeted Soren.</p><p>“I… I didn’t think I’d see <em>you</em> again.”</p><p>“Unfortunate circumstances have led us to seek shelter here,” said Soren. “You remember the Redstone Heart?”</p><p>“Yes… what about it?”</p><p>“It appears we may have... found the original creator of the heart, and she is none-too-impressed about us having stolen it from her,” Soren explained. “To put things simply, not only is she out to kill us because of it, but she’s also used it to build a computer named PAMA to mind-control and take over every single world in the Portal Network.”</p><p>Otto’s eyes widened.</p><p>“You’re kidding me?”</p><p>“I wish I was…” Soren said glumly. “But… the good news is that we’ve managed to trap PAMA and the root of his sources inside of a world by blowing up the exit portal. Which means any forces already sent through can capture us, but they can’t <em>get</em> us to PAMA, and PAMA can’t send any new reinforcements. You have my friend Magnus here to thank for that.”</p><p>Soren pointed to Magnus, who did a dramatic gesture in response. “That’s Magnus. Now, you already know me, Harper and Ivor… the others are Jesse, Stella, Lluna, Gabriel and the one asleep in Jesse’s arms is Romeo.”</p><p>“Ah yes, I remember your heroics quite well, Jesse,” said Otto. “And I am happy to say that the games have been going great these last seven years. No more of Hadrian’s corruption remains.”</p><p>“Not to interrupt, but sleeping beauty here is kinda getting heavy,” said Jesse, beginning to struggle. “Any place to put him down?”</p><p>“You’ve come at a good time,” Otto said. “We’re running a little low on competitors recently, so you can borrow some of the empty competitor lodgings.”</p><p>And thus Jesse quickly raced towards the empty room that Otto had pointed out and set him down, before retreating herself to another bed, diving back into her thoughts…</p><p><em>About how every part of this was her fault</em>.</p><hr/><p>“<em>Hello, boys,” she greeted, in a tone that sent a shiver down Romeo’s spine. He never heard her speak like that before.</em></p><p>“<em>Xara!” gasped Fred. “I’m afraid we have no choice.”</em></p><p>“<em>Choice of what?” snapped Romeo.</em></p><p>“<em>No choice? Oh, we always have a choice,” she said, her once low, flat voice being higher, more… strangely shrill, for her usual range. “Always…”</em></p><p>Romeo looked into Fred’s eyes, and he could tell that Fred understood the situation no better than he did.</p><p>“<em>Xara, you’re scaring me!” Fred said. “What is your problem?”</em></p><p>Xara slowly stepped towards Fred, who slowly took a step back.</p><p>“<em>Now it’s been fun! Really, it has,” Xara continued. “But this is the part where the adventure ends, for both of you!”</em></p><p>Xara raised the gauntlet, and slowly approached Fred. Fred’s face showed a mixture of shock and anger.</p><p>“<em>Xara, don’t--!” Fred warned. “Why me…? What about all we discussed?”</em></p><p>Xara responded with another round of her now-high-pitched laughter. “Fred, darling… that discussion was so full of your pussyfooting around the issue that I just decided… I’ll handle things myself!”</p><p>“<em>Can somebody tell me what’s going on?” Romeo asked.</em></p><p>"What you have wanted to do for so long, Romeo. That is what's going on." She said, lips curling into a wide, terror-inducing grin as she grabbed Fred's shoulder, planting a firm kiss on his forehead. <br/>All too quickly, he screamed, clawing at his head as his body grew colorless, before collapsing and poofing into inventory - Xara, of course, scooping it all up before shooting Romeo a coy smile.</p><p>“<em>Don’t mourn him, you’ll be joining him.”</em></p><p>“<em>No… no!”</em></p><p>Romeo bumped into somebody behind him, turning around… he saw Fred suddenly standing there with the same grin.</p><p>“<em>You could have saved me… You could have saved me… YOU COULD HAVE SAVED ME....” He repeated, growing louder with each repetition. The walls around him shook, giving way to total darkness as Fred grabbed one arm, Xara grabbing the other as they both lifted him, mouths foaming. Romeo tried to teleport, and found that he couldn’t.</em></p><p>Romeo couldn’t breathe. His chest was tight, the pressure unbearable as the void surrounding them gave way again, this time to infinite mouths, all with rows of sharp pointed teeth. Fred and Xara laughed, repeating their words infinitely as they began to pull on Romeo’s arms - he felt something wrap around his body, himself thrashing to break free.</p><p>“<em>You’re going to be okay -- it’s me!”</em></p><p>Romeo opened his eyes and started screaming. “LET ME <em><b>GO!!!!</b></em>” he shrieked, kicking and thrashing as he saw a figure standing next to him, rubbing their face. </p><p>“Romeo… it’s all right; it’s only me.” Jesse’s voice, soft and calming, found its way to him, filling his body with… relief?</p><p>“S-sorry… I… bad dream…” he panted, eyes tearing up.</p><p>“Is everything alright?” Jesse asked, concerned. “Are you okay?”</p><p>“N-no…” whimpered Romeo, shaking his head frantically. “S-sorry if I… w-woke you.”</p><p>“Don’t apologise… It’s okay,” She sat on the edge of the bed, Romeo slowly shuffling upright as he wrapped his arms around her. “C’mere, you…”</p><p>“...Thank you for being here.”</p><p>Romeo continued to sob into her shoulder.</p><p>“I know I... I a-acted like a tough st-stone-cold p-prisoner when… when I first met you,” he continued. “But t-truly… I… I’m scared.</p><p>“I… I almost d-did something horrible myself. E-everytime I look at… at Xara… I… I s-see myself as I w-would be if… if she hadn’t killed him f-first. It… it stops me from s-sleeping… everytime I c-close my eyes, I see <em>his</em> face… his r-red eyes… pleading…</p><p>“It’s my f-fault… all m-my…”</p><p>Romeo’s breath hitched.</p><p>“It… your friends… Fred… Sourcemist… all g-gone! Because of me! Because of fucking me!”</p><p>Romeo’s amber eyes, filling up with tears locked gazes with Jesse’s emerald eyes. He couldn’t take anymore and burst into full-on tears, crying into Jesse’s shoulder. Jesse softly patted his head, running her fingers through his hair. It was matted and greasy, yet her fingers seemed to slide through it as though it were silk.</p><p>Meanwhile… hearing Romeo bring up her friends again like that… it made her pause. For a moment, in all the chaos of getting away… she had managed to forget. Never again would she make another joke with Axel. Never again would she be able to discuss redstone and technical stuff with Olivia. Never again would she go on another adventure with Petra…</p><p>And Lukas… thinking of him and his perfect blond hair and the way he would always brighten up her day... never again.</p><p>All because she wouldn’t listen to a madwoman’s instructions.</p><p>Her eyes began to water too, but she immediately held back her tears. It would be time for all that later, not now. Now; she had to remain strong. She can break down and cry after PAMA and Xara are nothing but memories. They deserve it for taking everything from her, her town… her friends.</p><p>But what she was not going to do was let Romeo sit here and take the blame for it. Not happening… if anything, the burden was for her to bear… not him. Not that she was going to tell Romeo that… yet.</p><p>“Hey,” she whispered. “It’s not your fault.”</p><p>“But how can it n-not be?” he protested timidly, his voice weak from the strain he had just put on it. “If it wasn’t for me and my st-stupid emotions, Fred could be alive right now… but now he’s d-dead, and I could’ve gone down the same path as X-Xara.”</p><p>“There was no telling what could have happened, Romeo,” said Jesse. “There was no way you could’ve been in the right mind to see what she was going to do to Fred. This is all on her, not you...”</p><p>And me as well.</p><p>No, don’t break down now. It was time for her to be strong, not to break down like some wimp.</p><p>“T-thank you,” sniffled Romeo.</p><p>The next few minutes were spent in silence, before Romeo… still wet in the eyes, but no longer actively crying, cleared his throat.</p><p>“W-where are we?” he asked.</p><p>“We’re in the competitor village,” explained Jesse. “The Old Builder’s use to run a set of heavily corrupted games… which are still being run now, but since Otto’s the only one running them now, they’ve become a whole lot less corrupt and instead… a whole lot more fun.”</p><p>“Games?” asked Romeo.</p><p>“Yeah! Spleef, races, all the different types of fast-paced challenges and competitions that you could imagine.”</p><p>“Nice,” he said, wiping a tear away and sniffling. He climbed out of the bed. “But I still want to talk to Otto about this <em>Redstone Heart</em> business.”</p><p>“Okay, see ya’ later, <em>Rome</em>,” waved Jesse.</p><p>“Bye, <em>Jess</em>!” said Romeo, causing Jesse to blush heavily. He chuckled heartily as he stepped outside the competitor lodgings. Seeing the competitors gathered around the village outside the window, unfazed by this world’s dangers due to <em>circumstances</em>… an idea slowly began to form in her head, one that involved one of this world’s perks.</p><p>And by hell, it better work. <em>It has to...</em></p><hr/><p>After asking somebody for directions to Otto’s palace, Romeo set off… in a pensive mood. How did the Redstone Heart get into the possession of the Old Builders? That was the first question that he had for Otto. And he was <em>going</em> to get answers out of him. Romeo also wanted to show Otto the debug stick, and explain what he’s got planned for that… and Jesse too, for that matter.</p><p>Arriving at the palace, Romeo got the idea to simply knock and he did so. Three times. He was greeted by Otto himself, who immediately invited him inside.</p><p>“Now, I understand you didn’t come here for pleasantries, right?” asked Otto.</p><p>“That’s right,” said Romeo coldly. “Spare me the bullshit, and get right to the point; How did you first get possession of the Redstone Heart?”</p><p>Otto heaved a deep sigh. “It was while we were still building the hallway. We once visited a world, which I’m pretty sure is where you originated from; Sourcemin, was it? Sourcemint?”</p><p>“Sourcemist,” corrected Romeo.</p><p>“Right, and Hadrian heard about this heart that some <em>admin</em> woman was working on after visiting a town called… I believe it was ‘<em>The Oasis</em>’. </p><p>“No idea what an ‘Admin’ is, but all I know is that she was super powerful. Hadrian wanted that heart <em>badly</em> after hearing about the capabilities she was building into it. But he knew that it was fruitless…”</p><p>Romeo knew immediately that Otto was talking about Xara.</p><p>“So he forgot all about it until years later when we visited that same ‘Sourcemist’ place again, only to find it all covered in bedrock, everything broken and everyone gone. Naturally we were confused, but Hadrian didn’t care about that. With everyone gone, he saw a golden opportunity, which he took. You should have seen the look he got in his eye when he saw the heart left behind along with some abandoned machine.”</p><p>“Wait, wait, wait… you’re telling me that Xara lost the heart to a mere greedy <em>human</em>?” questioned Romeo, his voice cracking.</p><p>Romeo eventually lost it and burst into laughter. “That… that is... “</p><p>Eventually, he calmed down. Otto simply stood there patiently, with a look of minor frustration on his face.</p><p>“You know this Xara person?”</p><p>“<em>Know?</em> Oh, I used to be <em>friends</em> with her, I was an Admin too… until she betrayed me that is…” said Romeo, his tone cold again. “Let me show you something…”</p><p>Romeo reached into his inventory and pulled out the debug stick, Otto widening his eyes upon seeing it gripped in his gloved hand.</p><p>“An enchantment on a stick? That… that should be impossible!” he gasped.</p><p>“Oh, this isn’t any normal stick, Otto,” said Romeo. “This… is the debug stick. This was the source of our Admin powers, and you’re the first person I’ve shared that information with.”</p><p>“What exactly is an ‘Admin’ anyway?” asked Otto.</p><p>“A person with godlike powers,” explained Romeo. “Their form changes into a cool glowey outfit… and they can teleport, fly, spawn and vanish things. They can even disguise themselves as other people.”</p><p>“Wow…” was all Otto had to say. “If Hadrian had gotten hold of this thing…”</p><p>“Problem being, I had to wait to use it, as when an Admin uses their powers, if there are other admins within the same world, they can track down the energy left behind. But since I am now here, it’s safe to use this. Well, safe-ish...”</p><p>“Are you going to do it now?” asked Otto.</p><p>“Not yet. As much as I want to… I cannot defeat Xara alone. I am going to approach some… trusted friends of mine and offer them the chance to ascend alongside me… in secret, that is. I am not going to say who, as if Xara manages to somehow capture you, I don’t want to fully lose the element of surprise.</p><p>“There’s also something else I have to ask of you too...”</p><p>“If you’re going to ask me to become an Admin, I’m going to have to decline. My friends… they were the perfect example of why I don’t trust myself with that much power,” declined Otto.</p><p>“No, no, I understand, and I wasn’t going to anyway, because the transition from human to admin is meant to be a one-way trip, and the only way to reverse that is for an Admin to study the changes that these powers make, and to try and manually reverse all of it. Which will be extremely time consuming. It’s part of what makes those powers so dangerous if they got to their head.</p><p>“No, what I was going to ask you, was that we may need to stay in your world for a while. I know of one way to be able to remove an Admin’s powers, but it’ll take a while…”</p><p>“Go for it,” said Otto. “I only just met you, but I can tell that you know what you’re doing.”</p><p>Romeo sighed. “Thank you, Otto.”</p><p>And with that, Romeo left the palace… with the ease of mind knowing that he had Otto’s backing towards this plan of his. Now to try and get said <em>trusted</em> friends on board with his plan.</p><p>Romeo closed his eyes, lost in his own thoughts as he placed a hand on his chin. He was unaware of the world around him - right up until he bumped into someone.</p><p>"Oi! Watch where you're going!" The person growled, glaring at Romeo.</p><p>That voice... Romeo looked up, eyes widening in surprise. The other man raised an eyebrow curiously.</p><p>It had been so long, yet Romeo recognized almost every feature of his face - the slightly pale skin, the deep blue eyes, the black shoulder-length hair... He'd styled it differently, no longer trying to parrot Romeo's style, but it was still <em>him</em>. His facial hair was now a full circle-beard, rather than just a patch of hair under his chin. He was wearing a black tuxedo, without a tie.</p><p>"Antonio..." Romeo gasped, suddenly about to cry right there and then.</p><p>“How do you-”</p><p>“It… it’s me. Your old pal, Romeo.”</p><p>What he got in response was two wide, shocked blue eyes.</p><hr/><p>Author’s Note: Well, well, well… just who is this Antonio guy, and how does Romeo recognize him?</p><p>Credit to my friend <em>attackatosh</em> for proof-reading this chapter. And you should check out his story; '<em>Your Link Is</em>'. Definitely a good read.</p><hr/><p>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</p><p><a id="__DdeLink__879_3321096064" name="__DdeLink__879_3321096064"></a> More to follow.</p>
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<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Act V - Chapter 24</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Act V – Chapter 24</p><hr/><p>Trigger Warning: This chapter contains swearing. Reader discretion is advised.</p><hr/><p>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</p><hr/><p><a id="docs-internal-guid-0666bd01-7fff-df47-d7" name="docs-internal-guid-0666bd01-7fff-df47-d7"></a> “<span>R-Romeo? Old friend… is that really you?” questioned Antonio, looking his old friend up and down. “My god, mate… you look like you’ve been dragged through the wringer about a dozen times.”</span></p><p>Romeo gave a dry laugh. “Oh believe me, that doesn’t even scratch the surface of the shit I’ve been through since you were gone.”</p><p>Romeo did not miss the concerned look that Antonio gave him as he admitted that. Boy is he in for one hell of a story.</p><p>“I was just headed to the village to pick up some stuff, I’m assuming you’re headed the same way,” Antonio assumed.</p><p>“Yup!” responded Romeo, popping the ‘P’.</p><p>And thus, the two caught up on old times as they slowly walked back to the village, Antonio explained about how he had gotten himself stuck in this world while it was under the rule of the Old Builders, and how Jesse and her group of friends had come along and liberated them a few years back. He himself had never participated in the games, but he was around when Jesse defeated Hadrian.</p><p>And then Romeo explained to Antonio what had happened between him, Fred and Xara when he left. Romeo explained about how they had found the debug stuck, which gave them godlike admin powers. To say that Antonio was jealous would be a major understatement. Jealous that was, until Romeo explained just what that power did to their friendship.</p><p>He told Antonio all about how Xara had murdered Fred in cold blood, bedrocked over Sourcemist, took away his powers and locked him up in the Ironguard Detention Facility until Jesse and Soren rescued him.</p><p>“Soren, as in… Soren Hodgman, the writer?” questioned Antonio, disbelief evident in his voice.</p><p>To say that Antonio was shocked about these developments would again, be a major understatement. “To be honest with you mate, I kinda wish I’d stayed… I coulda stopped Xara, saved Fred, saved Sourcemist. No use dwelling over it now, what’s done is done.”</p><p>“But what we can do is get revenge on her,” said Romeo. “And you better believe I’m showing this bitch that I am not going to take any more of her fucking bullshit, and I have just the method… if you’re interested in helping me that is.”</p><p>“Sourcemist may not have been my home for years, but to hear about it being bedrocked and left behind like trash…” began Antonio. “Yeah, I’m interested.”</p><p>“Good,” said Romeo. “We’ll meet up with Soren and a few other friends of mine… and we’ll figure out what to do next.”</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>They eventually reached the entrance of the competitor village. “Okay, now let’s go find-”</p><p>“NO!”</p><p>Romeo and Antonio’s attention were brought to the middle of the courtyard, where Romeo saw Harper and Ivor trying to calm down a hysterical Jesse.</p><p>“Jesse… I’m telling you, It’s not going to work,” Harper tried desperately to explain.</p><p>“IT HAS TO!” Jesse screamed. “DAMN IT! IT HAS TO! I NEED TO TRY!”</p><p>“Whoa, what’s going on here?” questioned Antonio. Romeo immediately picked up speed and rushed to her side.</p><p>“Jesse? What’s happening?” asked Romeo. Jesse turned around.</p><p>“They’re saying it’s not… that the respawn isn’t going to work! And that… that I'll have to deal with the fact that my f-” she whimpered, in hysterics. “But I won’t. They’re not gone… I’ll get them back!”</p><p><em>Oh no</em>. Romeo was scared of this. He was scared that Jesse would fall into denial and attempt to escape from the hard, horrible truth.</p><p>“Jesse…”</p><p>“No! I don’t want to hear it! Outta the way!”</p><p>Without warning, Jesse immediately took off back towards what Romeo assumed would be the closest respawn zone, shoving him and Harper aside.</p><p>“We… we have to stop her!” exclaimed Harper.</p><p>Without question, Romeo broke into a fast run, and easily managed to catch up to the dark-haired female, but by the time he did so, she had managed to get herself to a respawn pit. Romeo stood there as she stared at the respawn pit with desperate hope in her eyes.</p><p>But after nobody appeared, the hope turned to despair and she fell to her knees, tears flowing freely down her face.</p><p>“Seven years! We’ve all been friends for over seven years,” she screamed. “And now… n-now...”</p><p>While the Ironguard Detention Facility may have hardened him to not react to other people’s emotions, he couldn’t help but feel empathy for her pain. He shared a similar pain with Fred, so long ago. It all ate away at him, and eventually he could not stand to just stand there while she mentally broke down...  there… <em>alone.</em></p><p>“No more,” she whispered. “I’m done being a hero! NO FUCKING MORE!”</p><p>Romeo stepped forward, crouching down onto his left leg and moved to give Jesse some comforting taps. The moment he touched the fabric of the red-and-black striped jacket however, Jesse spun around and pushed him away.</p><p>“No! Fuck off Blanc, I’m done!” she screamed. “I’M DONE!”</p><p>“Jesse!” he tried to reason. “You’re not think-”</p><p>He was cut off by Jesse giving him a hard punch in the eye, knocking him down to the ground.</p><p>“Stay the hell away from me,” she said coldly, her left hand slowly moving towards her right bandaged stump, eyes darting from Romeo to Ivor, Harper and Antonio. Soren, Stella and the rest of the Old Order approached from behind and joined them. “All of you, stay away. Don’t follow me… don’t try to look for me. It’s over!”</p><p>And without another word, Jesse turned around and fled... leaving Romeo on the ground, his left eye blackened and the others shocked into silence. Nobody followed her, and the silence carried on long after she was gone.</p><p>After what seemed like an eternity, Antonio stepped forward and gave Romeo a hand. “You okay mate?”</p><p>“Yeah, I’m okay!” he said, wincing as he touched his left, blackened eye.</p><p>“You sure? She got you pretty good there… your eye looks like it’s seen better days.”</p><p>“Xara’s done worse to me,” assured Romeo. “Believe me.”</p><p>He turned to the others, who were giving Antonio looks of question.</p><p>“That’s Antonio Pine. An old… <em>old</em> friend of mine. From way back before we got our powers,” Romeo introduced. “Now, you already know Soren Hodgeman…”</p><p>Soren and Antonio shook hands. “And these other peeps are…”</p><p>“Gabriel Fennoy, nice to meet you.”</p><p>“I’m Magnus Feldman,”</p><p>“Harper Reubens,”</p><p>“Ivor Reubens,”</p><p>“Stella Albert, and this is Lluna,” they all introduced themselves as they shook hands with Antonio.</p><p>“Nice! And who was that other…”</p><p>“Oh, her name is Jesse… Jesse… um.” Romeo scratched his head. He didn’t catch her last name when they met.</p><p>“Taber, Jesse Taber,” answered Ivor.</p><p>“Okay, so Romeo…” said Antonio, turning to his red-headed friend. “What do we-”</p><p>“Now that we’re all introduced, why are we all standing around?” exclaimed Ivor suddenly. “We need to follow Jesse, we can’t let her get herself killed!”</p><p>“I saw the direction she went in outside the gates, and I know the area,” said Antonio.</p><p>“Rest of you, stay here!” said Romeo. “Soren, you’re with us!”</p><p>And thus Soren joined Romeo and Antonio as they chased down Jesse while the rest stayed back at the competitor village.</p><hr/><p>For the next few hours, all Jesse did… was run.</p><p>She couldn’t face them.</p><p>They were all dead. And it was all her fault.</p><p>
  <em>It was all her fault.</em>
</p><p>Jesse’s legs were in agony, but she didn’t care. She <em>needed</em> to get away.</p><hr/><p>"You're new around here, ain't'cha?" Jesse stopped as she heard an unfamiliar voice from above and behind her.</p><p>"Who cares? I'm not even a competitor," Jesse growled, looking around. "And I don't need the trees talking to me."</p><p>"Cause it's not the trees, dummy," The voice responded, Jesse turning towards the sound of rustling leaves as a tall figure hopped down.</p><p>He was wearing a blue and grey competitor outfit, helmet in his arm as he popped his neck. </p><p>"And you are..?" Jesse asked. The man laughed.</p><p>"Ah, my name ain't important. The others call me ‘One’."</p><p>"<em>One</em>?"</p><p>"For my loss count... or was it how many people are currently on the blue team?" One scratched his bright cyan hair in thought. “Can’t even remember myself... all you need to know is that you’re looking at the best damn competitor in these games!”</p><p>Jesse raised an eyebrow. "So… why are you talking to <em>me</em> then?"</p><p>"'Cause you needed it. I can sniff out a sniffler like a wolf lookin' for a pink sheep. What are you doing out this late anyway? You know it’s dangerous. You got lost or something? I can take you back to the village. </p><p>
  <em>No, not back there.</em>
</p><p>One, seeing the pleading look on Jesse’s face, placed his hand on his chin, thinking.</p><p>“Or, if you need to just hide for a bit…" He pointed to a fake looking tree, which was built on an island across a small body of water. "One of my friends built a neat treehouse up there… and doesn't know how to lock his doors," He said with a grin as they crossed through the water bed.</p><p>Jesse shrugged, laughing as One guided her up the ladder and into the treehouse. She was immediately greeted by a wolf-pup barking and running circles around her.</p><p>“Baxter… of course,” said One. “Let me… calm him down.”</p><p>One raced to a chest near a double bed. “Here we are, a bone!”</p><p>Pulling said bone out, he held it out to the wolf-pup - Baxter, who had stopped barking and was approaching him slowly. Sitting back on his hind legs, Baxter opened his mouth and took the bone.</p><p>“There ya go!”</p><p>One sat on the windowsill while Jesse gravitated to the yellow double bed off to the side, flopping down onto it with a sigh, cradling her right stump.</p><p>"So what made you run off, huh? New to the games?" One asked, putting his hands behind his head. "You don't exactly look like a competitor."</p><p>"Nah," Jesse replied, voice muffled by the pillow. "We… my friends and I. We needed a place to stay, and…" She rolled over, hands on her stomach as she stared at the ceiling. "I tried to revive my friends with the respawn pit."</p><p>"Wait, I recognize you! You’re Jesse, gave Hadrian and Mevia a taste of their own medicine a few years back. I remember that well. You came back, assuming the Pit would be able to blink your friends back to life, didn’t ya?"</p><p>Jesse nodded. "If not everyone… then at least my… my friend L..Lu-?"</p><p>She couldn’t… she just couldn’t say <em>his </em>name.</p><p>"Shame it doesn't quite work like that," One shook his head, shrugging. "Those pits only work if they die on the game grounds - not if they die elsewhere, and especially not in other worlds."</p><p>"Then… they're all gone."</p><p>Admitting it made her throat fill up with bile, because that was what finally made it concrete and absolute. Her friends were gone.</p><p>
  <em>And it’s all her fault.</em>
</p><p>"Well, only in a physical sense. You've got your memories of being with them. All the good times you had with them. Every little moment… ain't too much of a stretch to say they'll live forever, long as you keep their memory alive."</p><p>Jesse sat up, hair covering her face as she kept her head low. "But… it's…"</p><p>She was interrupted by One's hand on her shoulder.</p><p>"Hey. I don't know what happened - I don't think it's my place <em>to </em>know, but I don't want you blaming yourself for this, you got that? You're grieving; you're <em>hurt.</em> But you need to keep their flames going now, and even if that culminates in a fiery rampage of revenge… all you can do now is keep your head up. You're a hero. Heroes can cry. But heroes can't cry forever."</p><p>“If I… if I had just listened to her…"</p><p>"And what would have happened if you'd listened? Your friends would be alive…" One stood up, looking at the door as if he'd heard something. "But… but you'd still be oppressed by her. They would have thought <em>you</em> dead, wouldn't they?"</p><p>Jesse thought about it for a moment, tears welling up in her eyes again. Whatever she was going to say next, she didn’t as their attention was grabbed by the sounds of footsteps from the ladder, which immediately stirred Baxter up, as he stood up and started barking again. Before Jesse could so much as move, the trapdoor flipped open, and a black-haired figure popped it’s head through the opening, blue eyes staring wide as they found Jesse.</p><p>“Guys! I found her!”</p><hr/><p>
  <em>Hours.</em>
</p><p>They had spent hours looking through this immense forest for any sign of that ‘Jesse’ girl with no luck. She was well and truly gone. Antonio cursed himself, if he hadn’t lost those damn foot tracks, they would no doubt have found her by now. And to top it all off, night time was right on top of them - and he just didn’t have the patience to dance around with mobs tonight.</p><p>“I… I don’t think we’re going to find her… at least not tonight,” he panted as he rejoined Romeo and Soren. They both replied in agreement. “Come on, I have a treehouse nearby that should provide us with some shelter for the night.”</p><p>By the time they reached the treehouse, it was well and truly dark. As they reached the middle of the water bed, where the treehouse was, Antonio froze… hearing voices from above.</p><p>“..and what would have happened if you’d listened?” a voice said. “Your friends would be alive? But… but you’d still be oppressed by her. They would have thought <em>you</em> dead, wouldn’t they?”</p><p>Antonio glanced at Romeo and Soren and placed a finger to his mouth.</p><p>“Not a sound,” he mouthed. “I’m going to find out what’s going on.”</p><p>Crawling up slowly, he got to about half-way before a loud creak of the ladder made him freeze, and then heard the loud yaps of his wolf-pup Baxter, which had no doubt given him away to the potential burglars. <em>Damn</em>.</p><p>Reaching the top, he flipped the trapdoor open and pulled his head up, expecting the worst. Looking to his left, his gaze locked with a pair of green eyes. He recognized the girl lying on his bed as who they were looking for immediately; Jesse Taber.</p><p>“Guys! I found her!”</p><p>Pulling himself up, he led Soren and Romeo into the treehouse too. Jesse immediately bolted upright and fixed a glare at them upon seeing the two.</p><p>“I thought I told you not to follow me!” she snarled. “What, I’m not allowed to be <em>alone</em> for a bit?!”</p><p>“...You stopped being alone when I showed up, girlie,” a second voice pointed out. Antonio’s head immediately snapped in the direction he heard it from. “Least you’ve still got friends that worry about you, y’know?” he winked, “You’re not alone on a team; you gotta work with your teammates to keep everyone in sync.”</p><p>“...Oliender?” Antonio said with a wide grin. “Shoulda figured you’d be the one that brought her up here!”</p><p>“Hey, it was nearby, she needed a place to cry it out… figured you wouldn’t mind,” He laughed. “Besides, made it easier for your little search party to find her, yeah?”</p><p>“Yeah, thanks mate! We were going to bunk in here and then resume our search in the morning but, guess you took care of that part.”</p><p>Oliender shrugged. “Hey, being the best of the best means I’m good at what I do - even unintentionally, you know that.”</p><p>“Look,” sighed Jesse. “Maybe I shouldn’t have reacted like that… but I <em>had</em> to try. If there was a slight chance that I could’ve gotten my friends back...”</p><p>Antonio felt pity crawl up inside him for Jesse. Losing friends is hard by itself, but when stuff like that gives you false hope of ever seeing them again… only for reality to hit you in the face…</p><p>“As much as I hate to say it, there’s nothing you can do for them now,” said Soren solemnly.</p><p>Romeo sat down next to her, and held her as she leaned against him.</p><p>“S-sorry about what I said before…”</p><p>“No, no, no! You have nothing to be sorry for,” Oliender said. “Like I said, you’re grieving.”</p><p>Seeing Romeo and Jesse interact like that… it took all of Antonio’s self control to not start teasing Romeo about how he’s finally <em>found</em> someone. He’ll save that for later, now was definitely not the time.</p><p>“Ant…” said Oliender, rubbing his head. “Is it okay if I bunk with you guys for the night?”</p><p>“You have to ask?” exclaimed Antonio. “Mate, my treehouse is always open to you, and I’m extending that to all of you too. Give me one second.”</p><p>Antonio walked over to a chest, pulled out three beds and placed one down separate and two of them together. “For you three,” he said, pointing to Romeo, Jesse and Soren.</p><p>“What about me?” asked Oliender.</p><p>Antonio responded by pointing to him, and then to his double bed with a large grin on his face. Oliender raised an eyebrow, before smirking in realization and effortlessly lifting Antonio up off the ground.</p><p>“Unfair! I’m taller than you!” he grumbled.</p><p>“Whine whine whine! Just shut up and hop into bed,” teased Oliender as he effortlessly placed Antonio on the bed before flopping down next to him. The last thing he remembered hearing before conking out was Romeo explaining to Jesse that the pointed ears he had were a permanent side-effect of becoming an admin.</p><hr/><p>Author’s Note: <span>Whine, whine, whine indeed.</span></p><p>
  <span>Credit to my friend </span>
  <span>
    <em>attackatosh</em>
  </span>
  <span> for proof-reading this chapter and for letting me use his OC ‘Oliender’ as a minor character in this fic. These will be the only two OC’s involved though.</span>
</p><p>And apologies if this feels rushed.</p><hr/><p>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</p><p><a id="__DdeLink__879_3321096064" name="__DdeLink__879_3321096064"></a> More to follow.</p>
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<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Act V - Chapter 25</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Act V – Chapter 25</p>
<hr/><p>Trigger Warning: This chapter contains swearing. Reader discretion is advised.</p>
<hr/><p>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</p>
<hr/><p><a id="docs-internal-guid-50ac42c5-7fff-144e-5128-a4e52fe57ffc" name="docs-internal-guid-50ac42c5-7fff-144e-5128-a4e52fe57ffc"></a> Antonio was the first one up that following morning. Carefully untangling himself from Oliender’s vice-like grip as to not wake him, he carefully maneuvered his way out of bed. Passing by the second double bed which Jesse and Romeo were sleeping in, he suppressed a giggle as he watched his old friend spoon Jesse, both of their faces looking calm and serene as they slept soundly, oblivious to the world.</p><p>Baxter, noticing his owner was awake, greeted him happily.</p><p>“Hey Baxter!” he greeted back. “How’re you doing, buddy?”</p><p>Baxter responded with positive vocalisations.</p><p>“That’s good,” said Antonio as he reached into an inventory and held out a bone. “You want a bone?”</p><p>Baxter happily took it. “Of course you do. Now I’m just heading up into the attic, so be a good boy and try not to wake anyone, okay?”</p><p>Climbing a ladder, he flipped a lever on the ceiling, which opened up an iron trapdoor. As he climbed through, the heat up there prompted him to remove his suit jacket, which he discarded near the trap door. Flipping another lever, he powered a simple redstone circuit which provided power to the redstone lamps he set up, filling the attic with light.</p><p>This part of the treehouse was a space that he usually reserved for himself, whenever he needed time alone to just sit down and think.</p><p>He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he did not notice someone slip through until they sat down next to him. It was Romeo.</p><p>“Ugh, how can you stand the heat up here?” he asked, removing his leather jacket.</p><p>“Spend enough time up here and you get used to it,” said Antonio. “I come up here when I want to… <em>get away</em>, so to speak. Like, to have a bit of time to myself to think. Most of the time about Oliender…”</p><p>“Oh yeah, tell me about him?”</p><p>“Mate, where do I start? Even while I was still with you back in Sourcemist, I just couldn’t help but feel like there was a part of me that was missing, y’know. And then of course me and Fred had to go and have a falling out, and there were times where I just couldn’t stand to be in the same room with that big guy.</p><p>“Yeah, he was a bit too stubborn for his own good, I’ll give you that,” admitted Romeo.</p><p>Antonio went on to explain how his departure from Sourcemist didn’t improve things at all, only made them worse. He told Romeo about all of the things he did before ending up in this world, trapped by Hadrian and Mevia.</p><p>He spoke about how Hadrian and Mevia had trapped him in this world, and that everyone was forced to compete in the games. He didn’t compete much, as after that stint in the mines when he was eliminated once, he didn’t dare try and compete again. He would not go through that grueling punishment again. He still hated Mevia with a burning passion for what she did to him.</p><p>And then he talked about how he met Oliender about six months back. When Antonio first saw him in action, he had been awestruck. The way he completely wiped the floor with the other teams while going at it solo. Then there had been a period of time where Antonio did nothing but watch the games just to observe him in action. He still remembered how he froze up when Oliender first spoke to him.</p><p>Then there was a lot of time of both of them pussyfooting around each other, neither one of them wanting to admit the growing feelings for each other, until just a week ago where Antonio finally caved in.</p><p>When he told Romeo about that last part, the red-head started laughing.</p><p>“Oh man, looks like you finally found someone, ‘ey?” he teased. Antonio felt his cheeks redden slightly in response.</p><p>But no, he was not going to concede defeat here. Time for a bit of table turning.</p><p>“Yeah?” Antonio said, his mouth curving into a smug grin. “What about you? I saw the way you and Jesse were spooning last night. Got anything to say about that, mate? Feeling a bit of attraction <em>yourself</em>?”</p><p>The heavy blush that appeared on Romeo’s face was entirely worth it.</p><p>Antonio sighed. “Well, I assume you didn’t come up here to talk about <em>that</em>, so what’s been eating you?”</p><p>“Oh, I was looking for where you had gotten to,” explained Romeo. “When I saw you weren’t in your bed, I quickly took a look outside, but then I noticed you left the trap door open.”</p><p>Antonio nodded.</p><p>“So, what are you doing up here anyway?” asked Romeo.</p><p>“I told you, just needed some time to think, that’s all,” said Antonio. “Nothing against you, but with the way you suddenly re-entered my life, I just needed a moment to process it all.”</p><p>“Well, remember when I asked you if you were interested in helping me get revenge on Xara?”</p><p>“Yes...”</p><p>“Well, this seems like a pretty good spot to use for our planning,” said Romeo. “If that’s okay with you.”</p><p>“I mean, the attic doesn’t really get much use apart from my thinking sessions, so yeah… go for it.”</p><p>“Excellent! Now all we have to do is wait for the others to finally wake up,” Romeo stated as they climbed back down the ladder, out of the attic.</p><p>Jesse and Soren were still sound asleep, Jesse being stretched across the bed without Romeo to cling onto, and Soren huddled up in his blankets, mumbling incoherently, although Antonio did make out a few words like ‘admins’ and ‘endermen’.</p><p>Oliender however was awake and sitting upright, his blue competitor's shirt tossed to the side and the tank top he was wearing underneath riding up his torso as he stretched, revealing his stomach slightly. He gave Antonio a passing glance, nodding slightly before putting a finger to his lips.</p><p>“Lucky bastard,” Antonio whispered. “At least you got to change.”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he teased, rising up out of his bed and grabbing his shirt. “Much as I’d love to hang out, I do need to get going. I was on my way to the village before I ran into your friend here, and I had wanted to be back by morning.”</p><p>“Yeah, best make tracks then,” said Antonio.</p><p>When Soren and Jesse finally woke up, Antonio quickly ushered both of them into the attic, with the explanation that Romeo was ready to go over exactly what he had planned to do with the debug stick, which he was showing everyone. Antonio knew straight away that this was no ordinary stick, it had a glowing enchantment sheen on it which radiated energy.</p><p>It was by far one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen.</p><p>“How exactly is this stick going to help us fight PAMA?” Jesse had questioned when Romeo brought it up.</p><p>“Jesse, I helped you escape Ironguard. I showed you just what Xara had done to Sourcemist,” Romeo said. “You witnessed with your very own eyes just how much care that bitch has for others. And now, it’s time for you to uphold your end of our deal we made back in my cell and help me out.”</p><p>“How, exactly?”</p><p>“Tell me? Have you ever heard of the phrase; Fight fire with fire?” Romeo said, with a smirk.</p><p>Antonio’s eyes widened. Surely Romeo wasn’t meaning what he thought he meant.</p><p>“So what are you getting at here, Romeo?” questioned Jesse after a short silence.</p><p>“What I’m saying is, that the debug stick…” he paused for dramatic effect. “...is the very source of our Admin powers!”</p><p>He got three very different reactions. Jesse gasped in surprise, Soren began protesting about how dangerous it was to have that on him in Xara’s presence.</p><p>Antonio on the other hand became very still, his heart began to pound heavily as he focused on the glowing stick in Romeo’s hand. He knew what Romeo wanted, and that was the entire reason there was a tug-of-war game going on with his emotions.</p><p>He felt a strong temptation to grab it and use it to ascend straight away, but the rational part of him held him in place. As an Admin, he could have the freedom to do whatever he wanted with no limitations, and all of the possible ways he could impress Oliender.</p><p>But those very same powers were what ripped apart his old friend circle in the first place. Romeo had told him in detail just what those powers had done to him and the path that he almost went down before Xara did what she did.</p><p>He didn’t want to risk that happening to him as well. What if those powers got to his head too and made him alienate Oliender, or something much, <em>much</em> worse?</p><p>But yet Sourcemist was relying on them, and he really didn’t want to let his old friend down, but yet he kept focusing on all of the potential risks that being an Admin would entail.</p><p>“...Hello? Antonio, you in there?”</p><p>Antonio jumped as Romeo’s voice brought him out of his panicked thoughts. “Oh, y-yeah. Yeah I’m listening.”</p><p>“After careful consideration, I have made my choice. I am going to use this to get my powers back, but even then, I can’t fight Xara alone.”</p><p>And just like that, Antonio felt his throat tighten up, and he couldn’t breathe. He… <em>he just couldn’t…</em></p><p>“Wait, wait, wait? Are you saying that you want us to become Admins too?” Jesse questioned.</p><p>“That’s exactly what I’m asking,” Romeo said, glancing at Antonio. “That way, if I go down, you can still help put things right. And Antonio, sit down... breathe! There’s no need to worry, I’m not asking you to do it <em>now</em>.”</p><p>Antonio did just that, and it helped, but he still felt worried about the whole thing.</p><p>“I… I’m sorry, I need to sit down for a moment,” he panted, lowering himself onto the ground, with his back against a chest. Soren sat down next to him.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s okay! Just breathe,” he said, repeating Romeo’s advice.</p><p>“With such a big decision as this, you guys’ll need plenty of time to decide,” continued Romeo. “But first, I need to lay down some warnings.</p><p>“First of all, when an Admin uses their powers, they leave behind a trail, residue or whatever you want to call it. It doesn’t last for very long, but it lasts long enough for another admin to track you down. From what I remember, Xara never learned how to track an admin’s residue, instead choosing to focus almost exclusively on redstone. And besides, even if she did, she would’ve most likely forgotten how by now. But that’s not to say that PAMA won’t be able to learn how though, so keep that in mind.</p><p>“Second, gaining and removing admin powers are not as simple as you think. The stick can give you powers, but it cannot take them away. The general idea is that Admin powers are supposed to be a lifetime commitment, designed so that you cannot back out once you ascend.</p><p>“Fortunately for us, there are a few methods to do exactly that though. Fred’s method was a golden gauntlet, which I believe was guarded by that #POTATO451 password. Unfortunately, Xara already used that to take my powers away. So that’s a no go.</p><p>“However, I’ve come up with my own method of removing an admin’s powers. It requires the use of a special enchanting book, one of which I spent many years working on the crafting recipes for. Enchant something with it, and you can use it to make an admin normal again. Too bad I have to go through the process of making another one, ‘cause surprise surprise, guess who confiscated my original book!” grumbled Romeo sarcastically.</p><p>“What’s the catch?” asked Soren, picking up Romeo’s sarcastic tone.</p><p>“Each time you enchant something to depower an admin, it can only be used once, as the enchanted weapon automatically disintegrates upon successful removal. And guess what? It gets worse,” said Romeo. “Even when you have all of the ingredients, which will be no problem for me, guess how long it takes to make one? A whole fucking year!”</p><p>That statement was met by a chorus of ‘WHAT?!’</p><p>“I’m not joking, it takes a whole year to craft one of those enchanting books,” Romeo said seriously. “And that’s without all of the micromanaging you have to do to make sure nothing goes wrong.”</p><p>“But we can’t wait that long,” protested Soren. “PAMA’s forces could storm this world at any time.”</p><p>“I’m sorry, do <em>you</em> have the knowledge to make a whole fucking book capable of undoing the changes that ascension does to your body then?” snapped Romeo.</p><p>“Guys, please-” Antonio stepped in, attempting to break up the imminent fight.</p><p>“‘Cause if you do, I’d like to hear it!” he continued, ignoring Antonio.</p><p>“No, I don’t, but-”</p><p>“Well shut up, then!”</p><p>And to Antonio and Jesse’s horror, Soren and Romeo clashed and ended up in a brawl.</p><p>“Guys, really?” cried Jesse.</p><p>Antonio however was not going to have it, not in <em>his</em> treehouse.</p><p>“ENOUGH!” he roared, lunging in and pulling the two men off of each other. “IF YOU TWO ARE GOING TO FIGHT OVER IT, THEN YOU CAN GET OUT OF MY TREEHOUSE!”</p><p>Both men were struck into silence for a quick moment, before they regained their senses. Antonio was standing between then, both of his arms extended in a defensive position, Romeo on his left and Soren on his right.</p><p>“Now, if you two are done acting like idiots, can we please move on?” he continued. “Romeo, Soren did bring up a valid point there, we don’t know how long we may have. And Soren, that length of time may not be ideal, but it’s the only plan we’ve got.</p><p>“So both of you, can we just drop it, please?”</p><p>Both men calmed down and apologized to each other.</p><p>“Well, for the next two weeks, I want the three of you to think long and hard about whether you want to go through on ascending with me,” instructed Romeo. “And don’t get the idea that I’m forcing any of you into this either. I wouldn’t be asking any of you to consider this if I didn’t trust you a hundred percent. If you don’t feel comfortable, you are totally free to back out.</p><p>“But now, we need to head back to town. I’m sure Ivor, Harper and the rest of our group are worried sick about us.”</p><p>While the others moved to leave the attic, Antonio stood still. Romeo was right, this was definitely something he needed to think long and hard about.</p><p>“I’m not going with you guys,” Antonio said. “It’s going to take me a while to really think about it, and I prefer to do that alone. I’ll come to town and find you when I have a decision.”</p><p>With a nod of understanding from Romeo, Antonio followed them out of the attic and watched as they set off back to the competitor village.</p><p>Antonio felt something wet touch his hand. Looking over, he saw that Baxter had come up beside him, and was giving him a lick. He gave him a scratch around the ears.</p><p>“Not gonna lie to you buddy,” Antonio said. “This might just be the biggest decision of my life.”</p>
<hr/><p>
  <em>Two Weeks Later</em>
</p>
<hr/><p>Two weeks later found them once again back inside Antonio’s attic. Over the course of those two weeks, Jesse was having a similar internal conflict that Antonio had about it all. She wanted to help Romeo defeat Xara, and had already made her decision on the matter. But now that they’re actually about to do it, Jesse couldn’t help but have second thoughts about it all.</p><p>Slowly, Romeo pulled out the debug stick and held it out firmly in-front of him.</p><p>“I’m going to go first,” he said, his voice a mere whisper. And then, gripping the stick in both of his hands, he closed his eyes and concentrated, his bare arms shaking slightly. For a moment, nothing happened. Jesse was confused.</p><p>“Is something supposed to ha-” Jesse began, only to be cut off by the stick suddenly glowing a blinding white color. A burst of bright light caused Jesse to close her eyes. It lasted for about thirty seconds, during which Jesse could <em>feel</em> the energy coming from it, until it finally faded. Jesse opened her eyes, and as a glitching effect around Romeo faded, she almost took a step back in shock at what she saw.</p><p>Romeo looked completely different from how he was thirty seconds ago. He was exactly like the form Jesse saw on the poster back at Romeoburg. This time, Jesse was able to look at his Admin Form in person. </p><p>Romeo’s form was vastly different in comparison to Xara. Xara’s form was a mixture of random bright colors that were very eye-straining after extended periods of time. Romeo’s form on the other hand was much more pleasant to look at.</p><p>His hair was no longer faded and matted. Instead, it now resembled the bright firetruck red and tidy style that Jesse saw on the poster. His skin was now dark grey, his sclera was now red, with glowing yellow irises and he was wearing a black outfit, consisting of a knee-length coat with glowing red lines outlining the seams. The only part of him that remained the same were the pointed ears that he had, which Jesse remembered Romeo saying was a permanent effect of admin transformation, along with changes one may make to their hair as an admin. </p><p>“Ah, that feels better,” said Romeo. His voice sounded much more pleasant and less hoarse than it did before, and it had the same autotune that Xara’s voice had. He demonstrated his powers by floating towards Jesse in the same way that she had seen Xara do several times before.</p><p>“Having heard my warnings, are you willing to commit and ascend?” He asked.</p><p>Jesse was extremely close to declining right there and then, but a part of her brain told her that she had to make Xara pay for what she did to her friends. Swallowing her pride, she closed her eyes and sighed.</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p> “Are you absolutely sure this is what you want, Jesse?” Romeo questioned, his voice down to a whisper. “Remember, you can still back out if you wish, but if you use that stick, there’s no going back.”</p><p>Jesse opened her eyes and started directly into Romeo’s glowing yellow eyes.</p><p>“I’ll do it,” she said, determined.</p><p>She held out her left hand and took the stick from Romeo. “What do I do with it.”</p><p>“Hold it tight, close your eyes and focus on giving yourself Admin powers,” Romeo instructed.</p><p>Before Jesse could have the chance to get cold feet, she did exactly what Romeo said. As she focused, she felt the debug stick begin to heat up and fuse to her left hand. Her eyes caught a sudden burst of white light, even through her closed eyelids.</p><p>Jesse felt as though something was shocking her entire body. It began to seize up, and Jesse felt a trickle of energy run up her arm, and all throughout her body. Eventually, the seizing stopped, and Jesse fell to the ground. The blinding light no longer visible through her suddenly brighter eyelids.</p><p>As she opened her eyes, what she noticed made her do a huge double-take. A green hue was illuminating the ground, coming from her outfit, which was now glowing green. Soren and Antonio were looking at her in surprise and shock. Romeo on the other hand was looking at her with admiration and approval.</p><p>“Yes. You look good,” he said, spawning in a portrait for Jesse to see. It was very similar to the portraits Xara had of herself back in the Ironguard Detention Facility</p><p>Jesse saw that her skin was now dark grey; very similar to Romeo’s except a slight touch lighter. Her ears were now pointed, her sclera was an electric green, and her irises were white. Her outfit was black, and glowing green. It was slightly similar to Romeo’s form, only instead of a knee-length coat, it bore a striking resemblance to one of her favorite sets of armor; Dragonsbane. Her left hand bore a black glove with glowing green seams, while her right hand was still missing, which she had been expecting.</p><p>Even her hair clip now shined a bright electric green, the hair itself being the only part of her that remained unchanged. As Jesse stared at the portrait, the reality of Romeo’s offer, along with his warnings raced through her mind.</p><p>She was an Admin now, just like Romeo and Xara, and it looks like she isn’t going to living another day as a regular human any time soon.</p>
<hr/><p>Author’s Notes: Well, things should get interesting. Real interesting.</p>
<hr/><p>Credit to my friend <em>attackatosh</em> for proof-reading this chapter and again for letting me use his OC ‘Oliender’ as a minor character. (And a love interest for Antonio)</p><p>As for Admin Jesse, you can HC your own design for her if you want.</p><p>Again, apologies if this feels rushed.</p>
<hr/><p>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</p><p>More to follow</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Act V - Chapter 26</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Act V – Chapter 2<span>6</span></p><hr/><p>Trigger Warning: This chapter contains <span>mention of character death</span>. Reader discretion is advised.</p><hr/><p>(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)</p><hr/><p><a id="docs-internal-guid-ae76e56c-7fff-fcc0-a6" name="docs-internal-guid-ae76e56c-7fff-fcc0-a6"></a> Moving around took some getting used to, Jesse had found out as a simple bounce of her heel sent her floating in the air. Every gesture seemed to have more power to it, her arm movements more forceful. More… determined.</p><p>Even with her right hand gone, her new form was able to adapt - she could ‘grab’ things with her mind, and then secure them with her good hand if she needed to.</p><p>They made their way outside; it felt natural, to be able to observe their reflections in the water and see how they had changed. Romeo and Jesse found themselves looking at each other, watching their new forms move about with intrigue.</p><p>Soren and Antonio stood behind them, Soren floating slightly above the water as he skated around. The heels of his shoes tapped the water’s surface, making waves as he did figure-eights. Antonio rolled his eyes, looking down and watching his reflection change as he moved.</p><p>Soren’s form hadn’t changed much. His skin tone and orange hair were the same, but his eyes had changed - his sclera were black, and his pupils were shining a bright orange; the same shade as the glowing orange markings around his forehead. His coat fluttered behind him, his outfit like a conductor’s. He laughed, skating and sliding to a halt on the island.</p><p>Antonio looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. His hair color remained unchanged, but his skin had turned golden and his outfit looked completely different - a black long coat with golden web-like markings on his sleeves and back, a gold shirt with a black tie and pants underneath, and boots with golden soles completing his outfit.</p><p>“Enjoying your new abilities, I see,” he said flatly, rolling his eyes as Soren scoffed defensively.</p><p>“Oh, is a man not allowed a touch of levity in these stressful times?” Soren quipped, shaking his head as Antonio got to his feet, looking over at Romeo and Jesse.</p><p>“Don’t get too careless, Soren,” warned Romeo, giving Soren a golden-eyed stare. “Remember the plan, we’re supposed to be keeping our new Admin powers a secret.”</p><p>Soren waved his hand. “Yes, yes, I <em>understand</em> that… It should be simple to keep powers a secret in a forest barely anybody knows about.”</p><p>“Oliender knows this forest, Soren,” reminded Antonio. “And besides, just because nobody comes out here much, doesn’t mean we should get careless. All it takes is for us to be getting careless and for some hiker to accidentally stumble upon us, and our secret is out.</p><p>“Speaking of which,” Antonio continued, turning to Romeo. “How are we supposed to hide the fact that we four are now colorful, near-omnipotent Admins, Romeo?”</p><p>“From the stories Soren has told me about Xara, I believe he and Jesse have had first-hand experience with the answer to that question, mind enlightening us, Jesse?” asked Romeo, giving Jesse a wink.</p><p>Jesse, confused at what Romeo was talking about, widened her white eyes as she realized what he was getting at.</p><p>“Yes! Back before Xara sent us down to Ironguard, she had led us on a wild goose chase away from Beacontown, using that hologram of hers and disguising as one of our dead friends so we wouldn’t suspect anything. Just about broke poor Jack’s heart right then and there when he saw her reveal herself after thinking he had gotten his friend back.”</p><p>Jesse saw a look of anger flash in Romeo’s red and gold eyes as she mentioned Jack and what Xara had done to him.</p><p>“And it just keeps getting better, and better!” he growled. “But what I was getting at was that we could use that disguise ability for ourselves, to hide our new powers-”</p><p>“No!” protested Jesse. “I am not going to stoop to her level and pretend to be someone I’m not!”</p><p>“Let me finish,” said Romeo. “I said we could use that disguise ability to hide our new powers, I never said anything about wearing someone else’s skin.”</p><p>And to prove his point, Romeo’s body flashed red-white in a manner very similar to how Xara did when she removed her Sammy disguise. This time around, Jesse’s new powers shielded her vision from the blinding flash that came from Romeo as he put on a disguise.</p><p>As the light faded, Jesse saw what Romeo disguised himself as. It was still him, except it was no longer blatantly obvious that he was an admin. </p><p>His outfit was identical to what he was wearing just before he regained his powers; a red tank-top, blue denim jeans and red converse shoes, but that’s where the similarities stopped. His hair remained a bright red, ears remained unchanged from his admin form and both his amber eyes and his skin looked much healthier than before, as though he had never spent a day inside Ironguard.</p><p>Jesse couldn’t help but think that he was actually kinda hot…</p><p>“JESSE!” Soren’s voice yelled, startling Jesse back to reality, and suddenly she found herself a short distance away from the others, ender particles surrounding her current location, and where she just was.</p><p>“Ah! Sorry, kinda zoned out,” she said rapidly, getting her bearings. Admin powers or not, teleporting was still just as disorienting as ever. “Does that ever stop being disorienting?”</p><p>Romeo chuckled. “You get used to it.</p><p>“Now, to disguise yourself, you need to focus on who you want to become,” Romeo instructed. “For now, focus on how you looked and what you were wearing before.”</p><p>Doing just that, Jesse was amazed to find herself flashing a green-white, and then finding herself looking exactly the same as she did before; Well, almost the same.</p><p>She was wearing the same outfit as before; the striped jacket Romeo gave her, along with a black t-shirt, light blue jeans and grey shoes.</p><p>But that was where the similarities stopped. Her ears were still pointed and although her sclera returned to normal, her irises didn’t. Instead of green as they were before, they became a grey color - similar to her admin white, only darker. But no matter how hard she focused, she could not change them back to her natural green.</p><p>"Oh, right. Forgot to mention. Your eyes, ears and whatever difference your new powers may have made to your hair," began Romeo. "Those are permanent. You can disguise as anyone else apart from other admins perfectly, but certain admin features will remain when you disguise as yourself without your powers. And by permanent, I <em>mean</em> permanently. If you were to lose your powers, your pointed ears and eye color will remain.”</p><p>Jesse stood there, taking all of that information in. That not only explained why Romeo’s ears had been pointed, but it also explained his eerie amber eyes too. Which raised another question.</p><p>How were they going to hide that from the others?</p><p>“And don’t worry, I’ve got a cover story for that,” said Romeo, as if he had read Jesse’s mind. “If anyone asks, it was a simple side-effect from exposure to the debug-stick while I was experimenting with it.”</p><p>“Why don’t we just remain like this all the time?” asked Antonio as he flashed to his human disguise, consisting of his usual tuxedo and dark-gold eyes instead of blue. “Surely it would come in handy when you don’t want to give your secret away?”</p><p>“Short-term? Yes,” answered Romeo. “Long-term, afraid not. Your powers only work best when you are fully in your Admin form. You can still fly and teleport while disguised as a human, but you’ll find that your powers won’t be quite as precise, or as powerful, and there are some abilities that you outright cannot do outside of your Admin form, such as your special ability.”</p><p>“Special ability?” asked Soren, having also flashed into a disguise, consisting of his previous outfit; a grey business suit with a beige vest, no tie and a white dress-shirt and eyes that were dark orange, the same shade as his hair.</p><p>“Simply speaking, each admin gets their own special ability,” explained Romeo. “I’ll explain it all later on. For now, let’s head back. Remember our cover story though! Our new powers are to remain between us and Otto.”</p><hr/><p>Jesse felt terrible about lying to Ivor and Harper as to why her appearance had changed slightly, but she knew that it was for the best. Romeo had told them that they could not risk news of their status spreading and reaching PAMA or Xara’s ears.</p><p>In the meantime, she had gotten to know Romeo’s other friend, Antonio better. At first glance, he had reminded her of Ivor, but after hanging out and trading stories with him, she found out that the only real similarity between them were their appearances and backstory.</p><p>Antonio had told her about how he had been friends with Romeo, Fred and Xara before they first became Admins, and the close bond he had shared with Romeo back in the day. It had started off happy, but as he went along, he also told her about how Fred could be so insufferably stubborn at times, up to the point where he had personally felt alienated from the group because of the amount of arguing that he and Fred would do.</p><p>“Eventually, I could just take no more, and I decided that I had to leave,” Antonio said, staring at the sky as he lamented. “Romeo had begged and begged and begged for me to stay, but eventually I got through to him as to why I had to leave. </p><p>“Which I kinda regret now, after hearing what Xara had done. Don’t get me wrong, I still have mixed feelings about Fred, but he never deserved what Xara did to him. That was just plain cruelness. And hearing about what she just did to your friends, and what she is doing to the rest of the portal network… Nobody deserves to suffer like that. I can’t believe she had me fooled, to think I actually <em>apologized</em> to her too before I left!”</p><p>Jesse simply nodded in agreement.</p><p>“Y’know, I never got to thank you personally for getting rid of Hadrian and Mevia,” said Antonio, changing the subject after noticing Jesse’s silence. “Really, thank you for that! When I first got here, Mevia personally put me through hell just because she felt like it. Too bad you had gotten to her first. Would’ve loved to see her beg.”</p><p>As the two sat together outside the competitor lodgings, Jesse told Antonio stories about her previous adventures, including the Wither-Storm, Aiden and Sky City, the White Pumpkin and PAMA. The last one getting his attention.</p><p>“So PAMA was active before?” asked Antonio. “Why didn’t it try to take over the Portal Network back then?”</p><p>“Oh, he tried,” Jesse said. “But he couldn’t because Harper always remained two steps ahead of him. She was the only one at the time who knew how to create an exit portal, and thus she destroyed the exit to trap PAMA in that world.”</p><p>“Smart move,” nodded Antonio.</p><p>“And that should have been the end of it after I removed the Redstone Heart!” continued Jesse angrily. “But no, Xara had to come along and rebuild it all in our world and… <em>and…”</em></p><p>Jesse trailed off, tears beginning to swell up in her eyes just thinking about her friends.</p><p>“S-sorry… I-”</p><p>“Stop,” said Antonio. “Do not apologize for grieving about your friends. Crying isn’t a sign of weakness, Jesse. It’s your body’s natural way of processing grief. In other words, it means you are human. <em>She</em> hurt you, it’s perfectly okay to feel like this.”</p><p>Sniffling, Jesse nodded.</p><p>“But what you can do for them, is make sure their deaths weren’t in vain. And that starts by remaining strong and being there to show her that you are not going to let her walk all over you! Show her that she is not going to break you! Show her that no matter how many stunts she pulls, you are going to keep fighting until her power and influence is nothing but a memory!”</p><p>Heaving a huge sigh, Jesse looked back up at Antonio. “Yes, I think I may just do that! Thanks!”</p><p>“Hey, just looking out for ya! Any mate of Romeo is a mate of mine,” said Antonio. “Speaking of whom, he’s just told me that he’s using one of the Old Builder’s old labs to work on the Enchanting Book to take down Xara. Just thought I’d relay that to you.”</p><p>Jesse nodded. This was it then. The fate of the entire portal network, and the competitors in the village, as well as the chance to avenge her friends…</p><p>...it all lay in Romeo’s hands now.</p><hr/><p>End of Act V.</p><hr/><p>Author’s Notes: One more Act to go in this story.</p><p>Speaking of which, I’ve ran into a case of writer’s block here, so you’ll have to wait three weeks for the next update, rather than the usual two weeks between each Act of Redstone Nightmares.</p><p>
  <span>Again,</span>
  <span> I would like to credit my friend </span>
  <span>
    <em>attackatosh</em>
  </span>
  <span> for proof-reading and helping me a bit with this chapter.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Like it? Review. Don’t like it, look up another story.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>More to follow.</span>
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